Chains of Reality
by Exotos135
Summary: The world we see is not the first. After Lincoln discovers a mysterious dimension known as "The Original Reality," Lincoln, his sisters and several other allies must fight back against impostors of the sisters known as the "Proto-Sisters," and try to stop their enigmatic goals. Rebooted into "Chains of Reality: Divinity Reborn"
1. A Mysterious Dream

**Greetings, you beautiful people! This is Exotos135, bringing you my newest long fic, Chains of Reality!**

 **So, after I finished The Loud Sim Date (Don't read it, you won't be able to stomach it) I was kind of on hold on what I would do next. Should I make a sequel? Should I make something new? Well, this fic's existence should answer your question, but nevertheless, I got to work on this soon after I finished TLSD. Also, this story will only update on sundays. Probably not every sunday, but definitely sundays.**

 **Now, before you move on to the fic, let me tell you this is going to be long. Probably only slightly longer than TLSD, but still quite long. I'm also writing by the seat of my pants, so if you have any ideas for the fic, that doesn't conflict with what I already have planned, then go ahead and suggest your ideas. And with that said, onto the story! And don't forget to read and review!**

 **Songs referenced: None.**

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 **Chapter 1: A Mysterious Dream! Lincoln Looks for Answers!**

* * *

" _Do you remember... Lincoln?_ "

Those words made the boy wake up in a cold sweat, though he could immediately tell he wasn't in his room. Indeed, he wasn't even in his Royal Woods, Michigan anymore. He was currently in a floating piece of ground, surrounded by several other pieces of ground, with some strange artifacts in them.

The background was nothing more than a grey, clouded "sky" that had electricity surround it every once in a while, the only sound around was apparently quiet ambience, and there was no sign of any other living being in there.

"What is this place?" Lincoln asked as he got up and took a look around. "How did I end up in here?"

The boy jumped from his featureless platform to a similar one with a phone in the middle. He approached the object, grabbed it... And the location changed almost immediately; All but the platform Lincoln was on vanished from existence, the clouded sky went from grey to light blue, and the ambiance was replaced by constant ringtones, followed by a particular thing appearing above Lincoln.

It was Lori, or someone who looked like her, bounded and restrained by blue wrapping with a keyhole in the middle of it. "Lori?!" Lincoln exclaimed as he dropped the phone in shock, and the location turn back to normal and the platforms return.

" _Huh, so when I grabbed the phone, this place changed?_ " the white-haired kid though in contemplation. " _Let's see what happens if I grab anything else._ "

He jumped to another platform, with a football in the middle. He grabbed it, and, just as he predicted, the location transformed again; the remaining platforms vanished, the sky became crimson red, the ambiance was replaced by what sounded like a sports game, and someone who looked like Lynn was suspended above Lincoln, with the only difference from Pseudo-Lori being that her wrapping was red.

The boy dropped the football, and another platform jump later, Lincoln grabbed its object: a flower.

The clouded sky went from grey to yellow, and the quiet ambiance was replaced with constant, demonic laughter, and Pseudo-Luan appeared above Lincoln, bounded and restrained by yellow wrapping. She was also seemingly crying and laughing at the same time.

After dropping the flower, Lincoln went through a pattern: Go to another platform, grab it's object, see what happens and which bounded and restrained sister pops up. She was either dreaming about playing in a game, or practicing for one, but she was definitely moving in a rather spastic rhythm.

The next object was a tiara. Upon grabbing it, the sky became pink, the ambiance was replaced by pop music, and Pseudo-Lola was suspended above in pink wrapping. She was attempting to pull off some poses, but alas, her current position made that very difficult.

After that was a wrench. The sky became blue, the ambiance was replaced with a waterfall, and Pseudo-Lana was suspended in the air in blue wrapping. She was trying to break free from her restraints, to no avail.

Next was a bat-winged headband, for some reason. Funnily enough, the location barely changed once Lincoln touched the object; the sky remained the same, the ambiance remained the same, all that changed was that Pseudo-Lucy popped up, with her wrapping making it look she was... hanging around, if you get what I mean. She was completely motionless, but for some reason, she gave off a... Pleased atmosphere. She even giggled at random.

Next item was a guitar. The sky became violet, the ambiance was replaced with rock music, and Pseudo-Luna appeared suspended above him in violet wrapping. She was apparently singing, or maybe praying, something in a very quiet tone of voice.

Next thing was a pair of glasses. The sky turned dark green, the ambiance was replaced with mechanical noises, and Pseudo-Lisa appeared suspended above him in a gibberish-filled dark green wrapping. The girl seemingly used her mouth to write in her wrapping.

The penultimate item was... A blanket. The sky glitched and switched between violet, white and yellow, the ambiance was replaced by constant crying, and a seemingly armless and legless baby appeared next to Lincoln, right before she sprouted arms and legs and crawled to him. Needless to say, he dropped the object in an instant.

Finally, Lincoln went to a platform with another pair of glasses, though these ones were definitely more fashionable. He grabbed them, and while the sky turned seafoam green and the ambiance was changed by mall music, chains popped out of seemingly anywhere-from the sky, the platform, the glasses themselves-as the final sister popped out of thin air, suspended in light green wrapping...connected to a bunch of chains: One pink, one blue, one green, one dark grey and one lavender. No doubt this was Pseudo-Leni.

However, unlike the other sisters, who all had their eyes closed, Pseudo-Leni's eyes were open. Not only that, but she looked strictly at Lincoln, her stare following him as he moved around and he returned the stare.

" _Lincoln... Do you remember me?_ "

The boy looked around for the source of the voice, all while Pseudo-Leni continued to stare at him.

" _Lincoln... Look at my while I'm talking to you._ "

Again, the boy could only look for the source of the voice, while Pseudo-Leni narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

" _Lincoln... I'm, like, literally above you._ "

It was in that moment that Lincoln realized something: Pseudo-Leni was talking to him. How was she doing that, he didn't know, but it was clear it was her voice speaking.

" _It's good to see you again! Did you meet the rest?_ "

Figuring she was talking about the other pseudo-sisters, Lincoln nodded while forcing a nervous smile.

" _We missed you... Did you miss us?_ "

The boy couldn't answer, mostly because a bunch of amorphous... Things popped out of the platform and approached him.

" _Do you remember us?_ "

The amorphous things morphed into the sisters, who then proceeded to grab and restrain Lincoln, all while Pseudo-Leni continued to look at him.

" _Do you remember me?_ "

Luckily, Lincoln soon woke up screaming, now back in his room in the middle of the night. He took a look around to verify he was back in the real world, and once he saw he really was back home, there was only one thing in his mind:

"What the heck was that all about?!"

And then Lori barged into his room, looking quite cranky herself. Maybe he shouldn't have said that out loud.

"Hey, twerp, your stupid girl-worthy scream woke me up from my beauty sleep!" she complained as she walked to Lincoln and made him look at her. "I mean, hearing you scream once is annoying, but twice is just too much! Listen, all of us-even the less pretty Louds like Lola-"

"Hey!" Lola whined from afar.

"Have to take our beauty sleeps if we want to both look good and not act cranky the ensuing day," Lori explained before narrowing her eyes and leaning forward to Lincoln. "So, tell me what the heck happened that made you scream so hard. I'll see if I can help you-and us-sleep properly for the remainder of the night."

Though hesitant for a moment, Lincoln eventually took a deep breath and explained his dream to her. "I found myself in the middle of some bizarre location: A bunch of floating platforms with items in them, seemingly lifeless, and whenever I grabbed one of the items, it changed appearance and revealed girls like you and the rest of our sisters, bonded and restrained by

Lori immediately flinched at the last part. "D-Did you... see some sort of Leni-like figure, suspended above you, bounded by light green wrapping?" she stammered, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I did," Lincoln answered, scratching the back of his head and raising an eyebrow.

Lori covered her mouth and turned away, shivering as she did. "L-Lori, do you know something about that dream?" Lincoln asked, frowning in worry. "Please, tell me you know something!"

But all Lori did in response was turn to the door and walk away as she ordered her younger brother: "Lincoln, forget you ever had that dream, and don't even try to get it again. It's for your own good. And definitely don't go into my room to get any answers."

And she didn't even give Lincoln an explanation, she simply left the room and went back to her own. The boy grew curious about Lori's reaction, but going to Lori's room would be basically suicide, so it's not like he could find out more about it right now. So he fell asleep, determined to get some answers tomorrow.

The next day, Lincoln woke up and the first thing he did... Was do his usual morning routine. Brush his teeth, get dressed, nothing unusual. But then, he approached Lori-who was checking stuff on her phone-as soon as he could and caught her attention.

"Lori, we need to talk!" the boy vehemently stated.

"Oh wow, it looks like I got a friend request from "Distraction"! I heard they're a very popular person," Lori replied, solely focusing on her phone. "I might as well write to them thanking them for the friend request. Would you be a dear and bother Lisa while I'm busy with this super important stuff?"

Intentionally or not, Lincoln agreed and went straight for Lisa and Lily's bedroom. Even if Lisa did some sort of crazy experiment in the process, she was bound to be more helpful than Lori.

Once he went inside the room, Lisa was playing cards against Lily... And was apparently losing. "You cheating baby of an-" once she spotted the guy, though, Lisa immediately put on a stoic façade. "Oh hi, Lincoln, I was just trying to verify Lily's intelligence with a friendly game of cards."

"And how many times has she beaten you?" Lincoln scoffed, crossing his arms with an amused smile.

"3, and it's about to be 4," the genius begrudgingly confessed. "She's cheating your way to victory, I just know it!"

Then Lily blew a raspberry at Lisa.

"Well, whatever you're trying to accomplish, I need to talk with you about something," Lincoln said as he walked closer to Lisa. "Listen, last night, I had a bad dream involving the sisters, some weird alternate dimension, and a bunch of items-"

"Is that the reason why screamed like a girl last night?" Lisa nonchalantly asked, and Lincoln nodded while Lily giggled. "Hmm, what made you wake up?"

"Well, I grabbed a pair of fashion glasses similar to Leni's, and a girl similar to her popped up," Lincoln hesitated before he added, scratching the back of his head with worry. "She asked me if I remembered her, if I remembered her sisters, and then amorphous things shaped like them came out of nowhere and tried to do things to me! Also, a Lily-like figure was there for some reason."

The baby dropped the card she was about to eat.

"That certainly sounds both intriguing and perturbing," Lisa remarked, scratching her chin. "However, I can't really tell you anything about it. What you gave me is too vague for me to come to a logical conclusion."

"Figures," Lincoln said in disappointment. "Well, thanks for the help anyway."

With that said, Lincoln bid farewell to the duo and left as Lisa waved goodbye. And then he was grabbed by Lori. "Listen up, twerp, I told you to forgot about that dream for your own good," she hissed. "What makes you think that ignoring my warnings won't bring you trouble?!"

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Lincoln growled in return. "I asked you to give me answers since you seemed to know something about it, but you didn't give me anything!"

"Lincoln, I'm serious, forget you ever had that dream!" Lori demanded, slapping Lincoln in the cheek. And as the boy grabbed his cheek and shivered, Lori gave him a clear warning: "If you keep trying to bother everybody else with that dream, your butt's going to feel the palm of my hand next!"

She then dropped Lincoln on the floor and walked back to her room, all while she couldn't help but mentally regret what she did. It was a good thing Lincoln remained behind and didn't follow her, since he was spared of seeing her worried.

" _I'm sorry for doing that, Linc, but you have to understand that purchasing answers concerning that dream will only bring trouble,_ " she mentally said, looking at the ground. " _So please, for everyone's good, for your own good, forget you ever had that dream._ "

Once she was gone, Lincoln seriously considered actually doing what Lori told him and forget about the dream. But then, he spotted a familiar object on the ground of the living room: It was the wrench from the dream. Well, it was Lana's, but it's the same thing.

So he approached it, grabbed it and gave it a look as he wondered what it was doing just laying on the ground. After all, Lana wasn't known for leaving her tools anywhere. She wasn't that irresponsible. So he looked for the girl and found her near the kitchen, trying to fix a toaster.

"Hey, Lana, you left your wrench on the floor of the living room," Lincoln told the girl while showing her the object. "Could you please be more careful next time?"

But once the tomboy gave the wrench a look, her answer was rather blunt:

"That's not mine."

"... W-What do you mean it's not yours?" Lincoln asked, taking a step back.

Lana promptly took off her hat, then took out a wrench from it. "I always have my trusty wrench right here in my hat," she explained. "I've never seen that wrench before. Whoever that belongs to, it doesn't belong to me, sorry."

The tomboy returned to work while Lincoln looked at the wrench in sheer disbelief. " _If this isn't Lana's wrench, then who does it belong to?_ " he mentally pondered as he went back to his room.

Once there, the boy decided to try something out and went to sleep on his bed, still holding the wrench in his hand. And just as he suspected, he returned to the mysterious plane, though this time it looked more like when he grabbed the wrench over there. However, there was one thing that didn't fit:

Pseudo-Lana wasn't suspended above him. In fact, from where he could see, Pseudo-Lana was nowhere to be seen. That is until she dropped from the sky and landed right in front of him... Before she jumped and proclaimed "It's-a me, Lana!" with a goofy tone.

Naturally, Lincoln was left confused, not only from the introduction, but how this girl looked. She looked the same as regular Lana, except her shirt was red and she had a frog on top of her hat. And then she went to fix a nearby fracture on the ground.

"Uh, hi," he greeted before handing "Lana" the wrench just as she took out her toolbox. "I assume this belongs to you?"

"Aw, thanks a lot, mister!" "Lana" said as she took the object-without even looking at Lincoln-and hid it in her hat. "I was about to call "her" for help before you came in!"

That statement immediately caught Lincoln's attention. "W-Who is this "her" you're talking about?" Lincoln asked before he clasped his hands and started pleading. "I-I need to know! Please, tell me!"

"I'm sorry, mister, but I'm afraid that-"

Once "Lana" turned to look at Lincoln, however, she was left speechless. Her eyes grew bigger as she walked closer to Lincoln and grabbed his hand, all while the boy himself could only look around in discomfort. "Is something wrong?" he asked, forcing a nervous smile.

"It's you..." "Lana" answered, giving Lincoln a big puppy-dog eyed look.

Naturally, not only did Lincoln not know what the girl was talking about, but he was caught off-guard when she gave him a tight hug. "Lincoln!" "Lana" exclaimed, shedding tears as she tightened the hug soon afterwards. "Oh my gosh, it's been so long! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Um... H-Have we met before?" Lincoln nervously asked as he gently broke the hug. "I mean, you do look like someone I know, but I don't remember personally meeting you before."

That response made "Lana"'s mood instantly turn sour as she said with pity: "Oh, right, you forgot about us when you were taken away," and then she suddenly cheered up. "But since you're here right now, wanna see some cool tricks I've been practicing in my spare time?"

"You got tricks?" Lincoln asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't like to brag, that's my twin sister's job," "Lana" promptly took out what seemed to be a wrench-sword hybrid right out of her hat, which she put on as she gave Lincoln a wink and smile. "But I do have quite a couple of tricks up my sleeves! And my hat. Mostly my hat. Would you like for me to give you a demonstration?"

Just before he could give her an answer, Lincoln watched a portal open nearby and, not wanting to find out what would come out of it, he hastily answered, "Sorry, but I need to go-"

"But you just got here!" "Lana" whined, her mood turning sour. "Why do you have to leave?!"

Lincoln pointed at the portal and "Lana" flinched once she saw it.

"Oh, I see. Yeah, getting out of here is the smart choice," she remarked, tightening her grip on her wrench before she turned to Lincoln with a hopeful look. "W-Well, you'll come back soon, right?"

The boy looked at the ground, then approached and gently brushed "Lana"'s hair. "I'll try my best to do that, I promise."

With that said, Lincoln woke up back in the real world, and the first thing he heard was Luna calling for him: "Hey, Lincoln, come eat breakfast!"

"Coming!" Lincoln shouted as he got off his bed.

And as the boy headed downstairs, he looked at his hand... And saw that he no longer held the wrench. However, what caught his attention the most was the "dream" he just had: It simply brought so many questions to his mind...

" _Just who was that girl, and why did she look like Lana?_ " he thought, narrowing his eyes.

 **-Next Time, on Chains of Reality-**

"I don't know, what if Lori hears us?" Lincoln replied.

"Then whisper it," Luan said in a quite tone similar to a whisper. "That way, this is something between us."

After thinking about the suggestion for a moment, the boy nodded, then leaned closer to Luan's ear before whispering her about the dream:

"In my dream, I found myself in a dark location, in the middle of what seemed like a black void. The only thing other than me were a bunch of disconnected platforms, with objects in each of them, and the flower was one of them. Not only that, when I grabbed the objects, the other platforms disappeared and the place changed. But most importantly, I found what seemed like versions of you and the other sisters, suspended above me, bounded and gagged with wrapping, and with keyholes in the wrapping as well."

By the time Lincoln finished, Luan's reaction wasn't what he expected. As in, she wasn't shocked or horrified at the dream, but she looked outright baffled. "If I didn't knew any better, I'd say that you heard a particularly dark poem Lucy wrote," she remarked, brushing Lincoln's hair while forcing a smile. "But nevertheless, I wish you good luck in returning to that weird dream place."

"Thanks, Luan," Lincoln replied, giving the prankster a wink.


	2. Flowers for Luangernon

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln Loud found himself in a mysterious dimension where he saw look-alikes of his sisters suspended in the air. Once he woke up, he found a mysterious wrench that, once he slept with it, sent him to a part of the realm where he met an unlikely face: Lana's look-alike, freed from her prison.**

 **"Oh my gosh, it's been so long! I thought I'd never see you again!" she said with delight.**

 **However, this caused his eldest sister, Lori, to basically threaten him in order to not do it again.**

 **"Lincoln, forget you ever had that dream, and don't even try to get it again. It's for your own good. And definitely don't go into my room to get any answers."**

 **But alas, with his mind unsatisfied and still filled with questions, will Lincoln manage to find a way to investigate some more about his dreams without stirring Lori's wrath upon him?**

 **Find out now, in Chains of Reality!**

 **Songs referenced: None.**

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 **Chapter 2: Flowers for Luangernon! The Other World Revisited!**

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Downstairs, at the kiddie table, Lincoln looked at his food with a stern look while his younger sisters talked with each other. He was too focused on what he saw in his "dream" to eat his food.

" _Okay, so the girl I saw definitely looked like Lana, and she seemed to know me,_ " Lincoln thought, scratching his chin in contemplation. " _And she also said that I seemingly forgot about her and the rest when I was taken away, but what did she even mean by that?_ "

And then he was struck by some mashed potato. "Earth to Lincoln!" Lola exclaimed as Lincoln returned to reality. "How's the weather in space?"

"Uh, non-existent?" the boy answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Let's save our brains a hassle and say that's the right answer," Lisa replied, rolling her eyes. "Still, what's on your mind, Lincoln?"

"Well, I had another dream, but I don't know if I should tell you about it," Lincoln answered, glancing at the adult table. "I'm kind of worried that Lori will somehow discover me and smack my butt in response."

"Why do you say that?" Lana asked, narrowing her eyes. She couldn't help but feel she was somehow related to it.

"Something tells me it's related to something Lori told him," Lucy remarked, startling her siblings. You know, nothing unusual.

"Lucy, when did you get here?!" Lisa asked, clutching her chest. "Also, what do you mean by that?"

"I've always been here," the goth said with slight exasperation. "I mean, I heard her warn him not to talk about his dream and to forget about it, if he wanted to save his butt from a massive spanking."

Then Lola and Lana opened their mouths. "And before you ask, paper-thin walls is the reason I know about it." Lucy added.

The twins promptly shut up. "Uh, yeah, what Lucy said," Lincoln said, forcing a nervous smile. "So, let's continue eating and stop talking about this, okay?"

"One more question: what did you do to the wrench you showed me earlier?" Lana inquired.

"Oh, uh, I found it's original owner and gave it to her," Lincoln hastily answered. "Would you please eat your food and leave me alone?"

Though the sisters, particularly Lana, were still suspicious about their brother's attempt at being secretive, they promptly did as he requested and ate their food. But just as he did the same, Lynn looked at Lincoln from the adult table with concern, while the rest of her family, her parents included, were too busy with their own stuff.

"Hey, I get the feeling something's bothering Lincoln," Lynn remarked, catching her sisters' attention. Particularly Lori's. "Does any of you know what's up with him?"

"Hmph, just something about a dream he had last night," Lori answered, now becoming the center of attention. No doubt Lola would be jealous if she knew about it. "But I already told him to forget about it, and how he shouldn't follow nonsense he saw in a dreams. It's for everybody's own good."

"Yeah, in his dreams!" Luan suddenly remarked, laughing at her own joke afterwards.

"Precisely; It's for everybody's good, in both the real world and in his dreams," Lori added, before giving the joker a wink and thumbs up. "Thank you, Luan."

The comedian's eyes widened and she flinched. "I... I was joking," she confessed, twiddling her fingers nervously. "It was only a joke."

Lori just shrugged and continued to eat her food as if nothing had happened. Needless to say, this convinced the comedian to keep an eye on Lori. She was dismissive to an extent in general, but this time, it was a little more suspicious.

Just as suspicious and Mr. and Mrs. Loud focusing almost entirely to whispering something to their phones and not eating their food. "Mom? Dad?" Luan inquired, catching her parents' attention. "Is something the matter?"

The couple exchanged worried looks, then gained smiles before Mr. Loud spoke, "Well, we wanted to wait until later to tell you, but now seems to be the right time to tell you that, well, we'll have to leave for a... Business trip, soon."

Luna, Luan and Lynn almost spat out their food in disbelief, while Lori and Leni just continued eating, though Leni notably flinched at the revelation.

"We'll start packing tomorrow, and after a few days, we'll have to leave for a while. A month, even." Mrs. Loud added before glancing at Lori and Leni. "And while we're away, Lori and Leni, but mostly Lori, will be in charge. And don't worry, even if we leave without warning, we'll still try to let you know when we've left."

However, in that moment, when the parents would leave was the last thing bothering the girls. They were more worried, terrified even, of the fact that Lori would be in charge for potentially a month. Yes, she would have Leni as a co-leader, but what could feeble, innocent Leni do compared to Lori? So, not wanting to think about it any further, everybody continued to eat... Right after Lori shot a smug look at her sisters.

 _After lunch..._

Luan walked back and forth in her bedroom, contemplating about lunch while Luna strummed her guitar. "Love, you do know your legs are bound to get tired if you continue to walk back and forth, right?" Luna remarked, catching the comedian's attention. "That, or you'll end up making a hole in our floor."

"I just can't help but wonder why was Lori so dismissive of Lincoln's problems, and why mom and dad didn't tell us they were leaving until now," the comedian walked to her bed and scratched her chin. "I mean, I know Lincoln's problems and our parents' problems are not our problems, but this time, I can't help but feel like this time, the problem will affect everyone."

"Well, what can we do? Confront Lori about it?" Luna asked, sending a shiver up the jokester's spine. "You know how scary she can be when she's angry. Besides, maybe it's for the better that we don't get involved. After all, who knows what could happen if we put our noses where we're not needed."

Though Luan knew what her sister was saying, she still couldn't help but feel like she should at least attempt to give her brother a helping hand, even if it was just this once. So she got up, left her room... And almost immediately stepped on something right before the location changed to Lincoln's dream, with the yellow background and demonic laughter, followed by what sounded like her _own voice_ screaming at her.

Once the shock from the scare wore off, the prankster looked down to see she stepped on... The same flower Lincoln met in his dream. She grabbed it, gave it a closer look, and then bolted straight for Lincoln's room.

"Lincoln!" she exclaimed, only to wince and try to cover her eyes. "S-Sorry, I-I didn't knew you were getting ready to read your comics!"

What she actually saw was a shirtless Lincoln about to take off his pants, which he did with an "Are you serious?" look shortly afterwards.

"I'm honestly surprised you still find the need to blush and act all embarrassed when you see me in my underwear. I read comics in my undies so often, you should be used to it by now," Lincoln remarked, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, what do you need?"

The comedian remembered why she came there and revealed the flower to her brother. "I-I found this flower laying on the floor, and after a quick scare, I was wondering if you recognized it, because I certainly don't," she hastily explained, still trying to avoid looking at her brother.

All it took was a quick look for Lincoln to remember his dream, the crying-laughing Pseudo-Luan and the demonic laughter. "I do recognize this!" the boy snatched the flower and narrowed his eyes. "But how did it get here in the first place?"

"I honestly can't answer that, Linc, I just stumbled upon it by accident," Luan replied, right before she got an idea. "Although, if you want, I could go to Lisa and ask her to analyze it to find some more information about it!"

"... Well, it makes far more sense for you to carry a joke flower than me, so yeah, please do that," Lincoln said as he returned the flower to the comedian. "I'd really appreciate it."

"This is a joke flower?" the joker gave the flower a quick look, and was immediately struck with water. "Yep, definitely a joke flower."

The comedian and Lincoln laughed as the former left the room and the latter closed the door and got ready to read his comics. Afterwards, she barged into Lisa's bedroom and caught her attention.

"Luan?" Lisa asked as the comedian walked to her. She seemed to be slightly unnerved. "What brings you to my room?"

What Luan said next didn't help her:

"Can you analyze this joke flower?"

The genius was promptly struck by a sudden torrent of water coming from the flower, which stopped once she snatched it from Luan's grasp. The little genius then put the joke flower under an analyzer, which both she and Luan watched as it analyzed the object.

"So, just for curiosity's sake, where did you get that flower, and why do you need me to analyze it?" Lisa asked the comedian, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I found the flower on the floor, and I think it sent me to another world or something," Luan explained and, remembering lunch, she narrowed her eyes as she continued. "Plus, from Lori's mannerisms during lunch, I can't help but get the feeling she's hiding something. I mean, Lincoln has a weird dream and she's not concerned in the slightest? That sounds suspicious to me?"

The last part only made Lisa even more curious. "How did you figure out he had a weird dream last night?"

"Lori told us, duh," the prankster replied, messily brushing the brunette's hair. "But what's weird is how she reacted: She just said that Lincoln should forget about his dream and continue his life as if it never even happened."

"How is that weird? It sounds like something Lori would do," the little genius said, and then the analyzer finished analyzing the flower. "Oh, the analysis is complete. Now let's see what the results say."

"I know Lori isn't really the nicest girl around, but she's usually more supportive of Lincoln," Luan explained, unaware that the genius wasn't paying attention to her anymore. Then again, this wasn't the first time she wasn't aware someone wasn't paying attention to her. "Again, she's not all that nice, but at the very least, she should try to help Lincoln deal with whatever happened in his dream. Instead, she wants him to forget about it and act like it never happened?"

"This doesn't make any sense," Lisa stated, looking over the results again.

"I know right?" Luan lifted her arms... Then crossed them as she turned to the genius. "Wait, what doesn't make any sense?"

Lisa showed the results to Luan as she took the joke flower and pointed at it. "According to the results from the analysis, the joke flower you found, despite not having any different dimensional properties compared to our own dimension, still exhibits a mysterious aura that simply makes it feel off compared to the rest of our world. Plus, taking into account the resulting stats, It's quite likely that the flower belongs to an entirely different plane of reality from our own."

Naturally, Luan was left utterly confused.

"The joke flower doesn't actually belong in this world; it's from another dimension."

"What? Another dimension?" Luan grabbed the joke flower, and glance at it before she asked the genius, "Are those even a thing?"

"I can't say for sure, all I know is that this flower isn't from here, and you should get it back to wherever you got it from as soon as possible," Lisa replied. "Now if you excuse me, I have to deal with some important experiments, and speak with... An associate."

Lisa pushed Luan out of the room, all while the comedian was too focused on the flower to take notice of Lisa taking out her phone. "Hello? Yes, I was briefly distracted by my sister, but I've dealt with her now," the little genius whispered to the phone. "Let's continue with the planification, alright?"

 _Later, at night..._

The comedian, still looking at the flower, sat on her bed and contemplated what to do next while the moonlight infiltrated her and Luna's bedroom. Speaking of Luna, the rock star wannabe tried to sleep on her bed, but somehow, Luan's contemplation prevented her from doing just that.

"Love, it's 9 in the night and you're still looking at that flower?" Luna asked, giving her sister a worried look and catching her attention in the process. "Listen, if something's bothering you, tell me what's it about and I'll see if I can help you."

The comedian looked around, then showed the rocker the flower. "According to Lisa, this joke flower somehow feels off compared to this world, and when I showed it to Lincoln, he could actually recognize it," then she gave the flower another look. "I'm wondering if I should give this to Lincoln and see what happens to him-"

"You should probably do that, Love," Luna replied, letting out a drawn out yawn as Luan gave her a surprised look. "As long as Lori doesn't find out about it, since she seemed rather determined to make sure we forgot about the dream deal, I think you should give the flower to Lincoln. And if it helps, sleep with him too, I don't mind. Love you."

With that said, Luna tuckered herself up and Luan smiled before she left the room, holding the flower as tightly as possible. So she bolted straight for Lincoln's room and barged into it... Only to find the boy reading his comics in his underwear. This time, however, Luan wasn't particularly affected by the sight.

"L-Lincoln," Luan said, catching her brother's attention. "I'd like to give you something."

The prankster walked closer to Lincoln, then crouched to his height before showing him the joke flower. "This is the flower I showed you earlier, and if I remember correctly, you said you recognized it," she said while Lincoln took the flower and gave it a closer look. "Do you think you can tell me more about it?"

"I don't know, what if Lori hears us?" Lincoln replied, looking to his left and right with slight worry.

"Then whisper it," the comedian responded in a quite tone similar to a whisper. "That way, this is something between us."

After thinking about the suggestion for a moment, the boy nodded, then leaned closer to Luan's ear before whispering her about the dream:

"In my dream, I found myself in a dark location, in the middle of what seemed like a black void. The only thing other than me were a bunch of disconnected platforms, with objects in each of them, and the flower was one of them. Not only that, when I grabbed the objects, the other platforms disappeared and the place changed. But most importantly, I found what seemed like versions of you and the other sisters, suspended above me, bounded and gagged with wrapping, and with keyholes in the wrapping as well."

By the time Lincoln finished, Luan's reaction wasn't what he expected. As in, she wasn't shocked or horrified at the dream, but she looked outright baffled. "If I didn't knew any better, I'd say that you heard a particularly dark poem Lucy wrote," she remarked, brushing Lincoln's hair while forcing a smile. "But nevertheless, I wish you good luck in returning to that weird dream place."

"Thanks, Luan," Lincoln replied, giving the prankster a wink.

The trickster returned the wink, then headed for the door. However, just as she got ready to leave, Luan immediately got an idea and turned back to her brother.

"Lincoln, wait," she said, quiet enough to not wake up anybody else, but loud enough to catch Lincoln's attention.

"What is it?" the boy asked.

"You don't mind if I sleep with you, do you?" Luan asked, twiddling her fingers nervously. "If you're really going to go back to that weird dream place you went to earlier, you might as well go there with some company, don't you think?"

As if on cue, Lincoln decided to think about it: While he didn't want to drag any of his sisters to his weird dream place, Luan was not only willing to go with him, but she had a good point: If he was going to return to that mysterious location, maybe bringing some company could help in the long run.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," the boy replied with a purely honest tone."Okay, come sleep with me."

The comedian smiled, then laid right next to her younger brother as he showed her the flower. "Now, while we go to sleep, we have to be touching the flower in order to access the realm, or at least, that's how I assume it works," Lincoln instructed, all while Luan gave him an amused stare. "So grab this while we sleep, and don't let go."

"You know, if I didn't knew any better and you were using more vague terms, I'd say you're talking about something entirely different," Luan chuckled, causing her brother to blush. "But anyway: Let's focus on the important and go to sleep."

Lincoln silently agreed, and the pair fell asleep as they held the flower as tightly as they could. And soon after they did that, they wound up back in the dream place...

More specifically, they wound up in the Luan-themed version of the dream place: The background was yellow-ish with flower-like clouds, there was constant, demonic laughter amidst what sounded like circus music, and there was a large circus tent to the right of the duo, and a stage to their right.

"So... This is the place you were talking about, Lincoln?" Luan asked as she grabbed Lincoln's free hand.

"Well, it's a version of it, anyway," the boy answered with a shrug, right before he looked at the sky. "Oh hey, look at that!"

Up in the sky was someone who looked like Luan, riding a unicycle on top of a thin line. In fact, they looked exactly like Luan, only with a flower on their skirt, no flowers on her shoes, a green scrunchie, and only one antenna-like hair coming from the center of her head.

"Is that..." Luan said as she squinted her eye, and then flinched when she recognized the figure. "Is that me?!"

Then, pseudo-Luan did some juggling with plates while the demonic laughter was replaced with what sounded like genuine laughter and enjoyment. Luan looked everywhere to find the source of the laughter, while Lincoln firmly stared at the Luan look-alike. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel like he had met her before.

"Hey, did you hear about the martial artist who pursued a musical career?" pseudo-Luan asked, causing the demonic laughter to stop and allow the circus music to be heard in it's entirety. "I, personally, don't know much about his first song, but apparently it was a big _hit_!"

The laughter returned, this time in stitches and alongside applause, as the Luan look-alike jumped off the thin line, and landed on the stage with her unicycle in place, and with the plates right on top of her head, bringing forth even more approving applause.

"Thank you everybody! I'll be here all weekday!" the Luan look-alike exclaimed while waving goodbye. "And week! And month... And year... And eternity..."

But then, once the laughter just... Vanished, the Luan look-alike turned around and immediately spotted both Lincoln and Luan, though it was rather obvious that her attention was strictly on the young boy. "Hi, Lincoln, it's been a long time," said the look-alike with relief. "How have you been?"

"Uh, hi, I've been... Fine, I guess?" Lincoln greeted, waving hello.

However, while she gave Lincoln a relieved smile, her attitude turned sour when she turned to Luan, and she maintained a firm, stern look at her. Needless to say, this quickly unnerved the comedian in pajamas.

"H-Hi, m-my name is-" Luan greeted, shivering as her look-alike reached for her back.

And then Not-Luan took out a wood staff, with a yellow emerald on top of it. "So, you dare return?" the look-alike asked, before flashing a furious glare at Luan. "First, you take away what belonged to me, and then you have the audacity to return to my domain?!"

"I-I-I've never met you before, honest!" Luan stated, taking a couple step backwards.

"Liar!" Not-Luan hissed, lifting her staff as its crystal was charged with yellow energy. "You came back here to try and get rid of me, didn't you? Well, bad news to you!"

Then Not-Luan aimed her staff at Luan, who flinched and backed away a little.

"I'm not going down without a fight!"

 **-Next Time, on Chains of Reality-**

But then came the question: "But how am I supposed to help her?"

As Lincoln tried to find an answer, Luan grabbed whatever rubble she could find in the place and use it to block Not-Luan's incoming lighting strikes.

"L-Listen, I honestly don't know what did I do to upset you, but Lincoln's right! We should talk about this first!" Luan exclaimed, though her words fell in deaf ears. "I mean, I don't remember meeting you before!"

"Of course you don't remember me, but I remember you, and what you and your sisters did to me and my sisters!" Not-Luan exclaimed, charging her staff for another lighting beam. "And after leaving us trapped here for years, I'm not going to waste this opportunity to get revenge! Prepare for payback, you dirty imposter!"

" _Impostor?_ " Luan mentally repeated, raising an eyebrow.


	3. A Wild Lookalike Has Appeared!

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln tried to keep under wraps about his dream. However, things changed when Luan found a mysterious joke flower that apparently had a connection to the other reality! When an analysis from Lisa brought her no answers, she decided to do the next best thing and sleep with Lincoln.**

 **Not in that way, you perverts!**

 **"You don't mind if I sleep with you, do you? If you're really going to go back to that weird dream place you went to earlier, you might as well go there with some company, don't you think?"**

 **So, seeing logic behind Luan's reasoning, sort of, Lincoln and Luan slept together and, grasping the flower in unison, found themselves back in the other reality. Once there, however, they met a look alike of Luan, who wasn't really happy to see the comedian.**

 **"So, you dare return? First, you take away what belonged to me, and then you have the audacity to return to my domain?!"**

 **Naturally, the duo had no idea what she was talking about, but they had no time to explain themselves, for the Luan look-alike promptly got ready to attack!**

 **What will happen now? Find out now, in Chains of Reality!**

 **Songs referenced: None.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Hostile Luan! Chaos Arises in the Other Reality!**

* * *

Back at the Loud house, in Lori and Leni's bedroom, the duo were sleeping peacefully when Lori heard something ringing in her closet. This made her wake up, go to the closet and open it to find, amongst other stuff, a set of gemstones next to a closed box, with the cymophane glowing and being the cause of the ringing.

"Leni, it seems that something is happening in Proto-Luan's realm," Lori remarked as the ditzy teenager woke up. "Do you go or should I go?"

"You know that I need my beauty sleep, Lori," Leni answered with a yawn. "Besides, when it comes to the older proto-sisters, they're your problem."

Leni went back to sleep, and Lori rolled her eyes and opened the box, revealing a set of rings with specific colors, and Lori took the black one.

" _Well, if you want to maintain dimensional balance,_ " Lori thought as she put on the black ring, which started glowing. " _You got to do it yourself!_ "

 _Back with Lincoln, Luan and Not-Luan..._

Lincoln got in the middle between Luan and Not-Luan, just as the latter finished charging up her wand. "Wait! You two don't have to fight!" Lincoln exclaimed, though this didn't seem to faze Not-Luan in the slightest. "We can talk about this, right?"

Not-Luan smiled before she shouted "Lighting Zero!" and shot an energy blast from her staff, which headed straight for Lincoln and Luan. However, as Lincoln closed his eyes and tried to take the bullet-or beam to be exact-for his sister, the attack simply phased right through him and exploded upon clashing with Luan, which sent her flying off into the abyss while Not-Luan flew after her.

By the time Lincoln realized this, both girls were already fighting in the background, with Not-Luan constantly trying to blast Luan away while she... Floated? Aimlessly.

" _The attack didn't do anything to me?_ " Lincoln thought, right before he got his priorities set straight. " _Whatever! I have to help Luan however I can!_ "

But then came the question: "But how am I supposed to help her?"

As Lincoln tried to find an answer, Luan grabbed whatever rubble she could find in the place and use it to block Not-Luan's incoming lighting strikes.

"L-Listen, I honestly don't know what did I do to upset you, but Lincoln's right! We should talk about this first!" Luan exclaimed, though her words fell in deaf ears. "I mean, I don't remember meeting you before!"

"Of course you don't remember me, but I remember you, and what you and your sisters did to me and my sisters!" Not-Luan exclaimed, charging her staff for another lighting beam. "And after leaving us trapped here for years, I'm not going to waste this opportunity to get revenge! Prepare for payback, you dirty imposter!"

" _Impostor?_ " Luan mentally repeated, raising an eyebrow.

But then, just as Not-Luan shot a lighting beam at Luan, an earth wall popped out of thin air and absorbed the attack, while a large earth hand also popped out of thin air and smacked Luan hard enough to send her back to Lincoln.

With that done, a blue portal opened in the sky and from there came out Not-Lana, holding her wrench-sword hybrid at hand. And while Not-Luan wasn't exactly happy to see her, Lincoln promptly waved hello with a hopeful look.

"Hello, Lincoln!" Not-Lana greeted, waving hello. "Did ya miss me?"

The tomboy mechanic then flew down to meet Not-Luan face-to-face, who gritted her teeth and growled... While Not-Lana looked completely unfazed. "What are you doing here, Lana?!" Not-Luan hissed while Not-Lana rolled her eyes and picked her nose. "I was going to kill her and finally be freed from this place!"

"Need I remind you that we'll eventually be freed from this place anyway, whether we kill our counterparts or not?" Not-Lana pointed out, taking out a booger and flinging it right at Not-Luan's face. "Besides, I'm here by Lori's request."

Not-Luan flinched and flew back. "Lori?!"

" _Lori? What would she even be doing here?_ " Lincoln mentally pondered as Luan got up. "Luan! Do you feel okay?"

"Well, despite being sent flying into this platform by a giant rock arm, I feel perfectly fine," the comedian answered as she dusted herself. "But who helped me?"

Lincoln pointed back to Not-Lana and Not-Luan, and the prankster promptly waved hello and shouted "Thank you!" to Not-Lana, who simply focused on her talk with Not-Luan.

"By Lori's orders, I must stop you from killing Luan and keeping Lincoln in this dimension," Not-Lana further explained as Not-Luan charged another lighting attack. "So, yeah, if you want to get your counterpart, you'll have to get past me first!"

" _Counterpart?_ " Lincoln and Luan thought in unison.

"Fine then," Not-Luan aimed her staff at Not-Lana and added, with a smirk, "If I must get you out of the way in order to earn my freedom, then so be it!"

But once Not-Luan shot another "Lighting Zero", Not-Lana simply sliced it in half with her wrench-sword and smiled as the pieces exploded shortly afterwards. "I find that very unlikely," Not-Lana stated with a chuckle.

And so, the fight begun by Not-Luan aiming her staff at the sky, then launching a lighting bolt it, creating a bunch of thunderstorms all around the location. However, Not-Lana wasn't fazed by the change in scenery. In fact, she seemed more annoying.

"Heh, so you'll start this with the advantage, huh?" Not-Lana scoffed, aiming her sword at Not-Luan. "Whatever, once Lori gets here, she'll turn your butt into a one-cheek wonder!"

The two sisters promptly dashed towards each other and their weapons clashed as the thunderstorms released lighting bolts all over the arena, though for some reason they made sure not to attack Lincoln, who was currently hugging Luan. Then, after clashing weapons for a while, Not-Luan kicked Not-Lana hard enough to send her flying back, giving her enough time to aim her staff at her and then direct the lighting bolts to strike the tomboy mechanic.

However, Not-Lana quickly recovered her composure and smirked before she flew all around the place, dodging lighting bolts left and right while summoning and throwing some rocks at Not-Luan. She followed this by swinging her sword, sending a blue energy blast directly for Not-Luan... who immediately blocked it by summoning a sphere of electricity around her, which somehow absorbed the attack.

But once the sphere dispersed, another portal-this one light blue-opened and a figure came out of it and rushed to Not-Luan as she prepared to shoot another lighting bolt at Not-Lana. Then, without warning, the figure smacked Not-Luan in the neck, causing her to fall to the ground as she shot her lighting bolt right at the thunder clouds, which somehow made them dissipate into nothing.

Then, once she hit the ground, both the figure and Not-Lana flew to her and promptly sealed her in the yellow wrapping Lincoln saw before. This was when the figure revealed herself to be Lori, though her appearance was rather... Different: Her hair became black and now covered her eyes, her clothes became monochrome, and her skin turned pale. Not to mention she had the black ring on her middle finger.

"I'm sorry, Luan, but you have to behave if you want me to consider getting you out of here," Lori sternly told the look alike as she woke up. "Consider this a time-out: And if you get into trouble again, I'll keep you like this for the remainder of tomorrow."

The look alike nodded, shedding a couple tears as she was taken up to the center of the dream place, followed by Not-Lana dusting herself. "Well, it took longer than I expected, but it all worked out in the end!" Not-Lana stated optimistically. "High-five?"

After a couple seconds, Lori shrugged and high-fived the tomboy mechanic, who promptly opened a portal back to her own realm with her sword. "Bye, Lori!" she said before jumping through the portal, which popped out of existence afterwards.

With that done, Lori took off the black ring, causing her appearance to turn back to normal. "Okay, whoever you are, Luan will no longer threaten you... For now, at least," Lori stated as she turned to Lincoln and Luan. "Now, how did you-"

However, once she actually saw the prankster and the boy together, Lori fell silent. She looked at them for a while, not knowing what to say, until a vein appeared in her forehead.

"What..."

Then, she gritted her teeth and formed a pair of fists.

"Is..."

Finally, she yelled the next with a face that befitted more a demon than a human, with large sharp teeth and bloody horns protruding from her head.

"The meaning of this!?"

Luckily, it was in that instant that Luan and Lincoln promptly woke up, and found themselves back in the boy's bedroom. "Well, that was something interesting," Luan remarked, scratching the back of her head... Right before she noticed something. "Oh hey, the flower's still here."

Lincoln looked down and saw he and Luan were still grabbing the joke flower. "Oh dang it, we forgot to give it back!" the boy quietly complained. "And since Lori is back on... Wherever that place is, we can't go back and give the item to... Whoever that girl that looked like you was!"

"Now that you mention her, are you sure you've never met before?" Luan asked, raising an eyebrow. "She seemed to know you, after all, and that girl that looked like Lana also seemed to know you."

"I know, but I honestly don't remember ever meeting them before," and that was when Lincoln remembered something important. "What's even weirder is that they seem to know Lori too-"

Speak of the devil and she will appear, for Lori barged into the room mere instants after Lincoln mentioned his name, causing the duo to hug in fear and scream. She then grabbed Luan by the ponytail and yanked her out of Lincoln's bed, right before she forcefully tuckered the boy and gave him a simple, yet stern, warning:

"Keep, your dang, mouths shut! You saw nothing, you heard nothing, and most importantly, what happened in that place is none of your business! And if you dare try to go deeper into a business that doesn't involve you, I'll make sure to hit you both so hard, you'll walk funny for a week!"

"Lori, lower your volume," Lincoln quietly replied. "It's nighttime, not the best time to be shouting around-"

"Shut up and go to sleep!"

She then dragged Luan all the way downstairs and pinned her against a wall, while the comedian herself hid both arms behind her back. Naturally, this made Lori suspicious.

"Give it to me," Lori ordered.

"G-Give what to you?" Luan stuttered, holding back her desire to cry.

"The joke flower!" Lori shouted at the top of her lungs. "You wouldn't have been able to enter that dang place if you didn't have the stupid flower! What you have in your possession isn't something you can keep! You know you can't see the difference between taking something seriously or joking around, so give it to me before I-!"

"Before you what?"

Lori stopped, then turned to see Luna standing nearby, with her arms on her hips and with an angry expression on her face. "It's a little late in the night to be driving everybody deaf with your shouting, don't you think, Lori?" the teenager asked, raising an eyebrow.

The oldest Loud simply turned to Luna and forced a pleasant facade. A façade that Luna managed to look through almost immediately. "Luna, no offense, but I'm in the middle of something important here: You see, Luan and Lincoln did something to annoy me, and now that I spoke with Lincoln, I need to speak with Luan," Lori said in a painfully forced cheerful tone. "So take your butt back to your room and leave us alone!"

"I'm not leaving until you release Luan and let her go!" Luna stated.

"I will release her and let her go," Lori promised, right before she ditched the facade and growled, "After she gives me what I demand!"

Luna then slapped Lori and grabbed her arm, right before the blonde released Luan and tried to slap Luna, only for the rocker wannabe to grab her arm and gesture the comedian to flee. Luan promptly obliged and cried as she ran back to her room as fast as she could, with the joke flower at hand.

"She's getting away!" Lori exclaimed as she freed herself from Luna's grasp, only for the rockstar to grab her by the waist and restrain her. "Let me go, Luna!"

"Not until you shut up and listen!" Luna proclaimed, which summoned the remaining sisters, minus Luan and Lily. They all then watched as Lori struggled to break free while Luna gave her some harsh words. "You may be the oldest one around here, you may think you're the leader, and you may even act like it, but you should know better than anybody else that if you mess with _one_ of us, you mess with _all_ of us!"

"H-Hey, w-what's going on?" Leni asked as she took a step forward.

"Lori here spoke harshly to Luan until she made her cry, and then demanded something from her at the top of her lungs!" Luna told her sisters, who either spoke to each other about how to take it, or, in the case of Leni, backed away slowly with a slight hint of fear. "Now listen and listen well, _Lori_ , if you want to mess with Luan, you'll have to get past me first. And I won't make it easy for you!"

Luna promptly performed a suplex on Lori, with most of the sisters recoiling from shock... While Lynn simply cheered for Luna. With that done, the rocker released Lori and walked back to her and Luan's room as Lori got back up and grabbed her head in pain. But she didn't leave without giving Lori a warning:

"And don't even _dare_ go to our room tonight. You've hurt Luan for long enough!"

With that said, Luna returned to her room and found Luan, crying her heart out on her bed while the joke flower rested next to her. Feeling sympathetic towards her sister, Luna sat next to her and brushed her hair as she tried to comfort the sad clown.

"Don't worry, Luan, I dealt with Lori. At least, for now," Luna told Luan as the latter slowly stopped crying. "You can sleep in peace now! And if Lori does try to hurt us again..." Luna cracked her knuckles. "Well, let's just say she's going to have a tough time getting past me!"

"Luna... Thanks, but," Luan said before looking around and showing the flower to her sister. "This is what Lori wanted. Why, I don't know, but it seems to be important to her somehow. I wanted to give it to Lincoln after we forgot to deliver it to my look alike-"

"Say what now?" Luna blurted, raising an eyebrow.

Of course, silly Luan, Luna couldn't possibly have any idea of what she was talking about. So Luan quickly shook herself back to reality and replied, "Sorry, it's not something I can just talk with you like nothing. Point is, I wanted to give the flower to Lincoln, but Lori seems to want it for some reason."

"Well, don't worry about Lori for now, I got you covered on that front," Luna then gave Luan a reassuring look. "Just... Try to sleep, Love."

Luna kissed Luan's forehead and then went to her bed while the comedian held the flower close to her stomach and tuckered herself, ready to take a snooze. However, the instant she closed her eyes, Luan briefly heard what sounded like her own voice crying, but she soon woke up to see herself in what looked like Royal Woods, except it felt... Different, somehow.

Not only that, she was apparently riding on an unicycle while whistling and holding a bag on her left arm. However, she wasn't really doing anything. It's like she was watching through another person's eyes, but couldn't really interact with anything.

" _W-What's going on?_ " Luan mentally questioned, since she couldn't really talk at the moment. " _Why does this seems so similar yet so different from the Royal Woods I know? And why can't I control myself?!_ "

Eventually, whoever Luan was looking through arrived at... The Loud house. They stationed their unicycle right outside, then entered the house through the main door. The interior looked basically identical to the Loud house Luan was used to, but like Royal Woods, it felt... Different, somehow. And as the comedian looked around, the figure walked to the kitchen, then put the bag on the table before a pair of familiar voices spoke.

"Luan! You're back!"

The figure-and Luan, to an extent-turned around and saw Lola and Lana standing nearby. However, these weren't actually Lana and Lola, but rather the Lana look alike, and a Lola doppleganger, who wore a pink dress that looked like it was made of scales, and a tiara that looked more pretentious and elaborate than Lola's.

The weirdest thing, however, was that the duo seemed ecstatic to see her. Or more accurately, her look alike.

"Hi guys, I brought something sweet," Not-Luan remarked as she opened the bag, then took out a pair of sweet bread. "Some sweet bread!"

Not-Luan then handed the sweet bread to Not-Lana and Not-Lola, who then marched out of the room while chanting "Sweet! Bread!" in delight. With that done, Not-Luan sat down and ate a sweet bread just as she was joined by another look alike: Luna's.

" _Luna has a look alike, or counterpart or whatever in here too?!_ " Luan pondered as the look alike kissed Not-Luan's forehead, sat down and grabbed a sweet bread.

The look alike was physically identical to Luna, no duh, but she wore a black spiked collar on her neck, her shirt, skirt and boots were black, red and white instead of shades of violet, and she also had what seemed like three white belts around her waist and two white bracelets around her wrists.

"So, how was the birthday party, Love?" Not-Luna asked, taking a bite out of her bread.

"It was okay, nothing too flashy or disappointing," Not-Luan answered, taking a bite out of her bread before adding, "At the very least, I gave the birthday girl the best time of his life. She said so herself."

" _Birthday girl?_ "

"I'm glad to hear that," Not-Luna stated. "So, did you set her up with Lincoln or something?"

"No, I learned from last time that setting up Lincoln with random girls has a high chance of failing," Not-Luan replied, sounding slightly disappointed. "But at the very least, she seems to be open for the idea. Which makes me glad."

And then everything slowly faded to white as Not-Luan finished with a particularly weird statement:

"It's about time Lincoln got a girlfriend."

Luan woke up back in her room, then looked down to see the joke flower was still in her hand. With this in mind, Luan tried to sleep again while her mind was filled with a simple question:

" _What was that all about?_ "

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

"Whatever, has anybody else woke up at this moment?" Lori replied.

Leni took a deep breath and answered, "Yeah, I checked through the keyholes of the rooms as usual, and saw who was awake and who was asleep. The ones awake are Lincoln, Lola, Lana, Luan-"

Lori immediately sprung up and cracked her knuckles. "Perfect!" she stated before bolting out of the room and heading to Luna and Luan's room... Or at least try, since her road was soon blocked by Luna.

"You again!?" Lori hissed, her eyes starting to glow seafoam green.

"You forgot what I told you yesterday, didn't you?" Luna growled in return, briefly noticing the change in eye color before regaining her composure. "Stay away from Luan! You hurt her enough yesterday!"


	4. Aftermath

**Before we move on, I would like to let you know that the next recap can be ignored if you want. It's simply there to make this more anime-like, and besides, it's only there just in case people need some context as to what happened last chapter. If you already know what's up, then skip them at your own leisure.**

 **With that out of the way, let's get going.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln and Luan encountered a hostile native from the other world, a lookalike of Luan! However before the doppleganger could do serious damage, Lori and Lana's lookalike fought back, and saved her siblings from the other comedian's wrath.**

 **Once she actually saw them, however, she wasn't happy to see them there.**

 **"What. Is. The meaning of this?!"**

 **The pair woke up in the real world, where they were beaten up by the young woman until Luna stepped in, fought Lori, and managed to prevent her from hurting her siblings any further.**

 **"Now listen and listen well, _Lori_ , if you want to mess with Luan, you'll have to get past me first. And I won't make it easy for you!"**

 **When the pair went to sleep, however, Luan found herself in what looked like her world, which brought more questions than answers.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, in Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Even the Louds Need to Relax Every now and then! The Calming After the Storm!**

* * *

 _The very next day, at Lori and Leni's bedroom..._

Lori woke up and was met with Leni's angry, but also slightly disappointed expression. "Let me guess, you're upset because I made a big scene yesterday?" Lori asked, earning a nod from her sister. "Listen, It's not my fault Luan and Lincoln decided to put their noses where they don't belong!"

"But you could've taken a far less aggressive approach!" Leni argued, and Lori simply rolled her eyes and went back to sleep. "Yes, them discovering the original reality is bad on it's own, but potentially drawing attention to it is even worse!"

"Can we talk about this later? The first thing I literally don't want to deal with when I wake up in the morning is being scolded by my younger sister," Lori growled in response as she stretched, earning herself a glare from Leni in return before the teenage ditz agreed. She wasn't really in the mood to go against her usual attitude, after all. "Point is, we already dealt with that, so let's focus on more important matters. Has anybody else woke up?"

Leni took a deep breath and answered, "Yeah, I checked through the keyholes of the rooms as usual, and saw who was awake and who was asleep. The ones awake are Lincoln, Lola, Lana, Luan-"

Lori immediately sprung up and cracked her knuckles. "Perfect!" she stated before bolting out of the room and heading to Luna and Luan's room... Or at least try, since her road was soon blocked by Luna.

"You again!?" Lori hissed, her eyes starting to glow seafoam green.

"You forgot what I told you yesterday, didn't you?" Luna growled in return, briefly noticing the change in eye color before regaining her composure. "Stay away from Luan! You hurt her enough yesterday!"

"She has something that doesn't belong to her! And I need to get it back!" Lori stated, gritting her teeth as her eyes glew brighter.

"And if you want to do that, you'll have to get past me!" Luna proclaimed, narrowing her eyes in defiance. "That is what I said yesterday, and I wasn't bluffing."

Naturally, this soon got on Lori's nerves and she tried to push past the rockstar. "Luna, get out of the way before I kick your butt!"

But the rocker wannabe just pushed Lori back and hissed, "And you stay away from Luan before I trash yours!"

Offended at the remark, the duo exchanged a pair of furious glares before they clashed with each other. First, Lori threw a couple punches straight for Luna, who dodged them just in time for the phone-o-holic to kick her in the face, though this also gave the rockstar the chance to grab her leg and pin her against a wall. However, the oldest Loud soon responded by kicking Luna hard enough to make her crash through her and Luan's bedroom wall.

This gave Lori the chance to barge right in and start turning the room upside down in her search for the joke flower. " _Alright, where did Luan hide that thing?_ " she pondered as Luna slowly got back up.

Without warning, the rocker screamed, grabbed her by the waist and threw her through the twins' wall, causing her to crash right through their tea party. But there was no time to process the ridiculousness of the situation-Lola and Lana having a tea party? Really?-for Lori got up, stretched herself and then rushed for the rocker wannabe, who caught her to a standstill as they slowly moved towards the staircase.

Then the phone-o-holic basically pushed the rocker away, slapped her hard enough to send her flying into the staircase, and then dived straight for her, causing them to go downstairs in a big ball of violence that continued to fight even after they reached the living room. And then they crashed into a wall and the ball split back into Lori and Luna, with the latter being sent flying to another wall.

And as they got up, the duo caught their breath as they prepared to attack each other again. However, just as they clashed with each other, Leni appeared out of nowhere, caught both their fists with almost no effort, spun them around and then made them clash against each other, all while maintaining a stern look.

"If you're going to, like, fight each other for whatever petty reason you fight, then at the very least do it outside," Leni scolded as the duo got up and grabbed their heads in pain. "Besides, it's already time for breakfast, so how about you two leave your issues for later and go eat your food like civilized people?"

Lori and Luna caught their breath some more before glancing at Leni, who gave them a fish-eyed scowl, and then said "I'm sorry" to the other before Leni-now smiling with delight-took them to the adults table. Once there, they sat down and exchanged furious glares at each other while they tried to eat their food.

Keyword being tried.

"Oh hey, Luan, I believe Lori has something to tell you," Leni blurted, catching the comedian's attention. "Isn't that right, Lori?"

The oldest Loud gave Leni a look of disbelief, but after seeing how sad Luan looked and how frustrated Leni glared at her, Lori put her food down and muttered, "I'm sorry, Luan."

"Um, I think you need to speak a little bit louder," Leni replied, gesturing Lori to raise her voice. "Like, loud enough for everyone to hear."

"Yeah! After all, we're the Loud family for a reason!" Lynn added, getting Luan to chuckle a little.

After some seconds in silence, Lori stated "I'm sorry, Luan" and then returned to eating her food... Up until Leni leaned closer to her and said, "And why are you sorry, Lori?"

"For attacking her yesterday while it was time to sleep," Lori added, gritting her teeth.

"It's... Okay, I guess," Luan replied, taking a bite out of her food. "At the very least, you didn't beat me up or anything. So, I guess I'll turn the other cheek for now."

Lori smiled, then returned to eating her food like nothing had happened. And just to make sure Lori didn't get angry, and to save Luan from the memory, nobody talked about the event last night, and breakfast continued like normal... While Lori whispered something to Leni:

"We need to make sure whether our counterparts have seen what happened yesterday. Do you know if other Lisa has managed to set up the interdimensional monitor yet?"

Leni shook her head with a shrug.

"Fine then, tonight, we'll pay them a visit," Lori added, causing Leni to frown and roll her eyes.

 _Meanwhile, at the kids table..._

Lincoln shivered while looking like he had seen as a ghost. And naturally, his younger sisters couldn't help but notice.

"Lincoln?" Lucy blurted, startling the boy back into reality. "What happened? Why do you look like you were trying to out-pale me?"

"Lori attacked him and Luan yesterday, remember?" Lisa pointed out, though her tone implied she wasn't happy to do so. "That's not something that's forgotten so easily."

"Y-Yeah, and b-before you ask, I can't tell you anything about my dream either," Lincoln replied as he continued to eat his food. "So, please, just eat your breakfast."

The sisters exchanged looks before they obliged, though they were clearly hesitant to not try to help their brother. Normally they would ignore him, but this time, ignoring him felt like the detrimental option in the long run. Nevertheless, they obliged and decided to leave that under the rug for now... Though Lucy gave her brother a brief, sympathetic look before continuing to eat.

 _Later, at Lincoln's bedroom..._

The boy tried to sleep on his bed just as Lucy barged in, with her crystal ball and a book in hand. "Lincoln, I've thought about it, and perhaps there's a way to interpret your dream," Lucy remarked as the boy rolled his eyes in exasperation. "I've been practicing some divination alongside my poetry, in order to appease Haiku mind you, so I believe we can find out what your dream may have meant."

"Lucy, last time you used a crystal ball, I was so afraid my day was ruined!" Lincoln replied, burying his face deep in his pillow. "Besides, what could that book have that could help you figure out what the heck does my dream mean?!"

The gothic girl thought about it and searched through her book to find the answer. "Let's see: Crazy ex-girlfriend, shark attack, another dimension-"

The last bit instantly caught Linc's attention. "Stop right there," he requested as he rolled off his bed and onto the floor. "What does it say about another dimension?"

"According to the book, if your dream has you in another dimension, it means you feel like you don't belong in your current reality, and that the dimension you entered was one you feel most comfortable with," Lucy explained, reading-somehow-from the book in her usual deadpan, though surprisingly straight, tone. It's almost as if she had read it before. "In other words, if your dream involves another dimension, you're dreaming of living in a different reality than this one."

"But that doesn't make any sense!" the boy threw up his hands in the air. "I mean, yes, you guys can be kind of jerks, and life seems to have fun messing with me sometimes, but that's not really enough for me to feel unhappy with this reality, or dimension, or whatever you want to call it. Are you sure it doesn't mean something else?"

"That's all the book tells me, Lincoln," the gothic poet answered with a shrug, though it was clear to an extent she was just as upset as the boy.

"Wait a minute, that's all?!" Lincoln leaned closer to the book, and to a lesser extent to Lucy herself, to the point where their cheeks clashed together. And as the boy searched through the pages, the goth tried to stay calm as she felt more and more uncomfortable. "Again, in my dream, the dimension looked like it was in ruins, and could change depending on objects I grabbed-"

Lucy promptly pushed her brother away and shrieked, "There's nothing else, okay!?"

This made Lynn barge into the room. "I heard Lucy screaming, what happened?" she asked as she went to Lucy's side and checked her.

"N-Nothing, I tried to decipher Linc's dream, but he got too close for my comfort," the gothic girl explained, blushing and hiding the book behind her back.

"So you feel uncomfortable with close contact, huh?" the athlete repeated as she leaned closer to Lucy. "I'm going to keep that in mind. Anyway, what did you find out about it?"

"Apparently, if my dream involves another dimension, which it did, it means that I'm not comfortable with this world, our world," the boy explained, while Lynn cleaned her ear, seemingly not paying much attention. "But the world I saw was in ruins, and Lucy's book doesn't tell me anything about that! What do you think?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Lynn gave her answer: "Don't know, nor care. Now come on, Lucy, let's get out of here before Lincoln starts hugging you for comfort."

Lynn left the room, chuckling to what she believed was a joke, and Lucy promptly left as well after bowing down and telling Lincoln "I'm sorry" in her usual deadpan tone. Naturally, a very disappointed Lincoln was left behind.

"Well, I guess I don't like the current world as is, but that can't be it!" Lincoln remarked as he left his room. "I mean, the current world is so bad that I would want to go somewhere else, but why would I want to go to what basically amounts to dimensional ruins?"

Then he walked to Luna and Luan's bedroom. "Oh well, I might as well go check on Luan. She can get really messed up when she comes under high emotional stress."

Once he went inside, he saw Luna showing some pictures to Luan, who was sitting on her bed and firmly paying attention to her. "Okay, how about frog? Certainly you can come up with a joke about frogs?" Luna asked, while Luan could only scratch her chin in doubt. And then Luna went to the next picture, which was about politicians. "How about politics? Making jokes about politics should be a piece of cake!"

Luan promptly gave Luna an annoyed look. "To be fair, political jokes get old really fast," the boy remarked as he walked to the duo, and then took out a cinnamon bun. "How about a cinnamon bun."

"Oh hey, when did Leni get here?" Luan asked.

Luna and Luan laughed at the pun, while Lincoln simply looked with a satisfied smile. Then he took a bite out of the cinnamon bun as he asked, "So, Luan, what did you do with the joke flower?"

Luan immediately stopped laughing, then gestured Luna to leave them alone. The rockstar nodded and went to her bed, where she played her guitar while Luan whispered her answer to Lincoln... While Luna tried to eavesdrop.

"I hid the joke flower on a small box downstairs at the library. It's password-protected, though, and only I know the password. And don't worry, It's not something that's easy to guess."

" _We'll see about that,_ " Luna thought, getting a smile.

The boy nodded and gave Luan a thumbs up before leaving the room... And then hearing "What were you thinking?!" coming from Lori and Leni's bedroom. So he stood right outside the door and eavesdropped the duo. Because it's not like doing that brought him and his sisters trouble before.

"Would you tell me what the heck were you thinking with what you did yesterday?!" Leni sternly scolded.

"You know how important it is that nobody discovers about the original reality!" Lori argued defensively. "We discussed this countless times: We must make sure nobody else discovers about the original reality until it's time!"

"We must also make sure we, like, don't gather unwanted attention, and what you did last night brought us way too much of that type of attention!" Leni retorted. "Listen, I'm not telling you to let them discover about the realities, but please, do it in a way that won't raise eyebrows!"

" _Original reality?_ " Lincoln pondered.

And then the duo spoke again, both sounding rather... melancholic.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I acted like that, but I couldn't help it, okay? You know that whenever somebody looks like they'll reach the original reality, I need to stop them at all costs!"

"I know, but right now, the best thing we can do is work in the shadows. If we gather too much information, our plans, and all our efforts to accomplish them, will turn to nothing. So please, just be patient, okay?"

" _Why are they refraining from saying their own names?_ " Lincoln thought, right before he heard footsteps. " _Wait, I think one of them's coming!_ "

The boy quickly ran back to his room just as Leni opened the door and looked around. Then, when she failed to find anybody, she shrugged and closed the door, allowing Lincoln to come out of his room and catch his breath.

" _Looks like Lori and Leni are planning something big,_ " the boy told to himself as he headed to Lisa and Lily's bedroom. " _If I'm going to figure out just what the heck are they planning, I need to form a capable team._ "

 _Later, at night..._

Lori and Leni went to sleep and immediately found themselves in the "hub" of the other world. "Okay, here we are," Lori remarked as she took a look around the desolate wasteland. "So, who do you want to visit?"

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Leni inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Didn't you, like, said we were going to visit Lisa?"

"I did, but I remember that you may or may not want to visit somebody else," Lori replied before jumping to the platform holding a sports ball. "So, I'm giving you the choice to pick who you will visit. Meanwhile, I'll go visit Lynn and Lisa-"

"What about Luna, Luan, Lily and Lucy?"

"Lucy's hanging around like always, Luna is praying, I already spoke with Luan, and the farther away I am from Lily the better. Just pick who you will meet while I see what Lynn's up to."

With that said, Lori grabbed the sports ball and suddenly vanished, leaving Leni alone to choose between the wrench or the tiara, Lana or Lola. After playing eenie minie-I mean, uh, thinking about it considerably, Leni hopped to the platform with the wrench and got sent to ProtoLana's domain, wherein the girl was fighting against four... Humanoid frog samurai?

"Oh geez, she's training again," the teenager pinched the bridge of her nose before narrowly dodging a flying piece of rubble. "Hey Lana!"

Luckily, Leni's words reached Proto Lana, and made her and the humanoid frogs stop fighting for a moment. The young plumber then immediately ran to Leni and hugged her. "Hi, Leni!" she chirped.

"Hi, Lana," Leni replied, patting the plumber's head. "Hey, do you know about what happened last night?"

"Yeah, Lori hired me or something like that to deal with Luan, but I managed to stall her long enough with my wrench-sword to give Lori the perfect opportunity to knock her out!" the tomboy answered while punching and kicking the air. "She apparently fought Lincoln and her counterpart, though she sent me back here before I learned anything else."

"Oh, so Lori, like, dragged you into that," Leni folded her arms and looked away with a stern, disapproving look. "How great."

"I know, right?! I got to see Lincoln again!" ProtoLana exclaimed, throwing her arms in the air right before her suddenly turned disappointed. "You know, sometimes I can't help but envy you and Lori. I mean, you get to see Lincoln every single day, while we don't even get visits from him."

Feeling sad for the girl, Leni crouched down and told her, "When the plan is successful, Lincoln will visit you all the time," with a reassuring smile. "Now, since I, like, need my beauty sleep, how's your sister doing?"

"Which of them? I got like nine," the plumber scoffed.

Leni slapped her, yet chuckled at her own mistake. "Your _twin_ sister."

"She's at her domain, go see her if you'd like."

With that said, ProtoLana went back to training and Leni returned to the hub, where she picked Other Lola's tiara and wound up on her domain immediately. "Hello? Lola, are you here?" she called.

But she got no response... Until ProtoLola popped out of nowhere and shouted "Diamond Flash!", causing the whole place to flash white for a moment. However, once the light vanished, Leni revealed that she put on her glasses at the last moment.

"Nice try, Lola," the fashionista took off her glasses and put them back on her hair while the mini proto-diva sat on the ground, looking rather upset. "But shouldn't you try it on somebody else? After all, as long as I got my glasses, your attack can't-"

Suddenly, Other Lola jumped up, dived down and put Leni's head inside her dress while she shouted "Diamond Flash: Vulgar Version!", and she notably tried to avoid giggling.

"Oh no! A naked child's body! My only weakness!" Leni exclaimed, having an equally hard time not laughing. "Curse you, Lola, your miniature kid body has struck me again! Now please get off."

"Not until you declare yourself as my adorable, yet dense, servant!" Proto Lola ordered.

"Never!"

And so Leni and ProtoLola laughed as the teenager around in circles and tried to shake the girl off, which she managed to do after about three tries. With that done, Leni sat next to the proto-diva and the pair laughed again for a moment before ProtoLola's mood suddenly turned sour, which Leni noticed.

"Sorry for doing that to you, Leni," the proto-diva twiddled her fingers. "You're the first person I've been able to use my diamond flash for a while now."

"Apology accepted, you at least recognize it was unnecessary," Leni then suggested, "You know, why didn't you use it on your other sisters? That would've been far more effective than using it on me."

"It's not my fault I lack Lana's ability to create living punching bags out of nowhere, or my own chain breakers to use as toys!" ProtoLola whined, flailing her arms up and down. "Besides, I did try to use it on some of my other sisters. But that didn't work out so well. Specially on Luan, who despite being tied up, somehow still managed to shoot a thunder zero at me!"

"So you do know about what happened last night?" Leni scratched her chin.

"All I know is that Lana was picked by Lori to help her deal with Luan, the two fought with her, and eventually they won," ProtoLola hastily explained. "Nothing out of the ordinary, but then Lana told me that she got to meet Lincoln! Can you believe that he would meet my twin before meeting me first?!"

"Well, it was a case of random chance: He didn't know what he was doing, and he wound up meeting her first-"

"But that still doesn't change the fact he met Lana first! I mean, we've been stuck for 3 flipping years, watching as he lives a live that was taken away from us, and the first thing he does is go see Lana and then leave like nothing else even mattered?!"

" _Oh gosh she's about to go into a temper tantrum,_ " Leni thought, pinching her nose and taking a deep breath. " _Looks like I'll be here for a while. I hope Lori's having better luck than me._ "

 _Meanwhile, with Lori..._

The oldest Loud found herself on the skies of ProtoLynn's domain, where she looked around until she saw the prototype jock fuming and growling against a masked, purple and yellow football player. Notably, the masked player was giggling to herself even as ProtoLynn bared her fangs.

"Come on, what's the big idea?!" ProtoLynn hissed, stomping the ground hard enough to shake it. "I let you play with me for a little while and you won't even let me go rough on you?! I've been going easy on you for the last 108 games, and you've won each and every single one of them! It's my turn to win something!"

"What about what Lisa told you?" the masked player pointed out, shaking their head. "If I put too much effort before becoming complete, I might overheat."

"How many times will it take this to get through that thick head of yours? I don't care what Lisa says!" Other Lynn shouted, stomping the ground hard enough to leave a crater. "This is _my_ domain, and we play by _my_ rules, so I demand that you stop whining and let me go rough on you!"

And then Lori flew down and got in the middle of the dispute. "Alright, I think that's enough!" she exclaimed. "Lynn, what's going on?"

"Oh great, if it isn't my "sister" dearest," Lynn winced in disgust, then short a glare at Lori's direction. "What makes you think you can just barge into my domain without permission?"

"I just came here to check up on you, specially since last night, a pair of intruders reached Luan's domain and caused some ruckus," the oldest Loud crossed her arms and shot a glare back, which unlike Other Lynn's, actually managed to startle her. "I wanted to see if you actually had an idea about it."

"Lana told me she fought Luan, but she didn't tell me anything else," the prototype jock turned to see the masked player giggling still. "As for what's going on, that little dipexcrement behind you has been whining to me for the past 108 games to go easy on her, and I've grown sick and tired of losing all the time!"

Lori turned to the masked player, then grabbed her like it was nothing. "I'll be sure to take this one back to Lisa's domain."

"Yes, for the love of Lincoln, take that little butthat out of my place!" ProtoLynn folded her arms and turned away, but not before giving Lori a little warning. "And tell Lisa that if she wants to play next time, then I'll gladly include shoving my knuckle sandwich, up her butt, in the package!"

"Well, I'm glad to see you're still as pleasant as always," Lori scoffed before getting an idea. "You know, I could always look for a new partner for you if this one wasn't to your liking."

"I'll keep that in mind, but until then, get out of this place!" the prototype athlete demanded. "The faster you take that brat away from here, the better!"

"Again, so glad you're being more pleasant than usual."

"Get out!"

So the oldest sister took the masked player and went to ProtoLisa's domain, which looked like before, only with another platform next to it. This one had a pair of tubes in it, one labeled "Project Santiago-1" and the other "Project Santiago-2", with the latter being the only one with a figure inside it. ProtoLisa herself was monitoring the humanoid when she noticed Lori, and like ProtoLynn, she wasn't happy to see her. She wasn't angry either, though, more like worried.

"L-Lori?" ProtoLisa blurted, taking a step back. "W-What brings you here?"

"Your little Project Santiago drove Lynn nuts," Lori answered before shoving the masked player into the remaining, empty tube. "And she also told me to tell you that if you sent them to play with her again, she would shove a knuckle sandwich

"Oh Lincoln no! A regular sandwich barely fits my butt in general, a knuckle sandwich... Eugh," the little prototype scientist winced. "Okay, I get it, I won't send her to play with Lynn again. Now, before you ask, I'm about to finish the creation of my interdimensional monitor, so we can see how everything is going in the... New reality."

Lori smiled. "I was going to ask you if you knew anything about what happened last night, but that works too. Let's go see this interdimensional monitor."

ProtoLisa led the young adult to the interdimensional monitor itself, which basically looked like a giant, floating television set. "I've been able to fix a good deal of glitches, but I still require some time before it is fully operational," the small genius explained. "Although, if I had someone to help me-"

Then Lori walked to the TV and started to tinker with it. "W-What are you doing?"

"I'm helping you with it,"

"But, don't you need a beauty sleep or something?"

"Hey, that's my Leni's deal. Besides, if it helps you get this done faster, you have no reason to complain, right?"

The prototype scientist, seeing logic behind Lori's reasoning-and really not wanting to do this alone-nodded and joined with Lori to take another step to make the interdimensional tv functionable.

 _Back in reality, at the Loud house's attic..._

Lucy, holding a poetry book in hand, entered the attic, letting out a yawn as she started to search through the boxes. "Let's see, which box was the one with the books again?" the goth pondered as she threw boxes at random, all while a shadowy figure entered the attic and approached her. "Ugh, why didn't I do this earlier today?"

"I wonder that too."

Lucy flinched and turned around to see it was none other than her roommate, Lynn, who looked rather tired. "I saw you leaving our room, and I was wondering just where were you going."

After hearing the explanation, Lucy looked around before explaining herself: "There's a special box around here that I use to save my books. I'm going to save my poetry book in there until I start practicing again tomorrow."

The athlete wasn't surprised at the answer, she had been living with Lucy for long enough to see it as ordinary, so she helped the girl find the box she was looking for. However, while Lynn checked a bunch of boxes, Lucy spotted something amongst the boxes, something that immediately caught her attention.

It was a black book, with an L-shaped form inside a red circle. So she took the book out, and opened it just as Lynn shouted "I think I found the box!", scaring the goth once more. So the girl saved her poetry book there, then glanced back at the black book while Lynn went downstairs. "Are you coming or not, Lucy?" she asked.

"I'll go to sleep in a moment," Lucy answered with slight hesitation. "I still have something left to do. Something I need to do alone."

Too sleepy to really think about it, Lynn rolled her eyes and continued off to her and Lucy's bedroom, while the goth went back to the black book and opened it on the first page, which showcased several names and their corresponding effects, alongside something about needing to give some sort of offering should the summoning fail. One of these names was "Vine", alongside how to summon them: write a circle on the ground, then chant the message:

"By the hand of the savior, I ask for you to come."

So Lucy, of course, just had to try it. She took out a pen from somewhere, then started to draw the circle while thinking, with stoic excitement:

" _Let's see if this works._ "

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

"Listen, Lynn, I get the feeling Lori and Leni are planning something, and I need to form a team in order to be able to deal with whatever their endgame is, and Lucy suggested that you could be a good member to have," Lynn grabbed the ball and stopped upon hearing the explanation. "Besides, the three girls I thought about adding are... Probably too young to be useful, so until I'm desperate enough, would you like to join my team?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Lynn took a deep breath and answered with utmost honesty as she gave her brother a look of sympathy:

"Sorry, Lincoln, but I simply can't help you. Going up against Lori is one of the craziest ideas I've heard in a while, and, it sounds like it's outright impossible. I may be a jock, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. That's Leni's job, after all! But my answer's no," the athlete stated before throwing her ball to the wall once more. "Why don't you ask Luna, though? She seems to have enough of a bad blood between Lori to give this team idea a shot."

"Maybe, but for now, I don't want to interrupt her while she's in the middle of something important," the boy got off Lucy's bed and left the room. "I'll go see if Lisa wants to join, see ya Lynn!"


	5. Team Building

**I know what you're thinking: Exotos, why are you posting this now instead of next sunday? Well, truth is, I think you guys deserve an apology for the fact I was unable to post last sunday due to...wifi issues, therefore, I'm posting this now, and next sunday will come the next chapter. So, let's move on!**

 **Also, just to be a lot less troublesome, I'm not going to put out any more song references. Not only do they come sporadically, but listing every single one would get tiresome after a while.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the friction between Luna and Lori grow even brighter as the very next day after the incident, they engage in a furious battle that causes great damage to the house.**

 ** _"Luna, get out of the way before I kick your butt!"_**

 ** _"And you stay away from Luan before I trash yours!"_**

 **However, before the fight got even worse, Leni interfered and put a stop to their brawl.**

 ** _"If you're going to, like, fight each other for whatever petty reason you fight, then at the very least do it outside!"_ **

**And sometime afterwards, Lincoln overhead Lori and Leni speaking about their plans.**

 ** _"Looks like Lori and Leni are planning something big. If I'm going to figure out just what the heck are they planning, I need to form a capable team!"_**

 **And, being the gothic gal she was, Lucy grew excited when she discovered a book that seemed to be about summoning demons. So of course, she just had to try it out.**

 **" _Let's see if this works._ "**

 **Will Lincoln manage to build a good team? Will Lucy ultimately regret Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Sibling's Teamwork is Established! Rise, Team Lincoln!**

* * *

Back at Lincoln's bedroom, the boy walked back and forth, his hands folded behind his back as he pondered what to do next. He just learned Lori and Leni were apparently planning to do something big, and he needed a team, but who could help him? And most importantly, who would even care enough to help him?

"Okay, Lincoln, you must think this carefully," the boy stated as he, without even noticing, walked over something several times. "Your team has to be capable of helping you all the way with the investigation of Lori and Leni's endgame goal! You must pick your teammates carefully!"

"You must also pay more attention to your surroundings."

Lincoln jumped and turned around to see it was just Lucy on the ground, moaning and stretching... With foot marks on her back. "Lucy, what are you doing down there?"

"Helping you remember stuff," the goth answered. "And also getting a really... _dang_ good, and cheap, back massage. Can you keep that up, please?"

Though he didn't really know what the girl was talking about at first, Lincoln got on top of her back and started to act like he was walking, all while Lucy moaned in approval. "Oh... yes!" Lucy moaned, blushing like a tomato and sticking out her tongue as Lincoln continued to fake-walk. "Oh, that... That really hits the spot!"

"Why do you even find this enjoyable?" Linc inquired, trying to ignore the suggestive noises his sister was making. "Do you have back problems or something?"

"I stood all night trying to summon something," the goth answered. "I don't know why, but ever since a couple days ago, some weird voice has spoken to me, telling me that only I can summon it from it's tortured reality to a more comfortable existence. So I tried to comply... But it didn't quite work out. And no, I'm not willing to say anything more."

"Okay, so, how much did you hear?" was Lincoln's next question. "If you heard how much I think you heard, then you should definitely be able to help me a bit."

"I heard you say you needed teammates to find out about Lori and Leni's plan," the goth answered with a shrug. "Before I tell you what I think, are you seriously going to do it? Lori is perfectly capable of turning you into a human pretzel if you get her mad, you know?"

"I still have to give it a shot, it may be the only chance I get to discover more about that weird place I saw in my dream," the guy answered with determination in his tone. "So, who can you suggest, Lucy?"

"Well, you're going to need a smart person, a tough person, a charmer, and someone who's basically just there to provide comic relief," the goth stated, scratching her chin before she got her suggestions. "Lynn or Luna could work as the muscles: they don't have a very good relationship with Lori, Luna specially after what happened, and they're probably just as curious about what's going as you are. Smart person, Lisa definitely, that is if you can convince her to join you, and Luan is obviously going to be the comic relief."

Lincoln thought about it, and you know what? Lucy's team idea... Sounded actually decent. "Hmm... I guess I could give this team you propose a shot- But first, how much longer do I have to do this massage?"

"Keep it up for 5 more minutes, please," the goth answered with a dreamy tone. "The spot needs more grinding! But try to keep it at a minimum, I got an appointment later."

 _Meanwhile, with Lori and Leni..._

The former leaned closer against her wall while the latter worked on what seemed like a dress. "Lori, be very careful when you lean against the wall," Leni told her older sister as Lori narrowe her eyes and tried to hear better. "Termites or some other wall-crawling bugs might end up going inside your ear. Or even worse, a spider!"

Upon hearing that, Lori immediately left the wall while Leni shivered in disgust. "Sorry, Leni, it's just that I'm hearing some weird noises coming from Lincoln's bedroom," Lori remarked as she scratched her chin and walked back to her sister. "It sounds like he's doing something to Lucy that she's greatly enjoying, and it's making me quite uncomfortable."

"Then go out and stop them," Leni replied, and if Leni saying a smart thing was not the definition of weird, then I don't know what is.

"But what if they're doing something intimate, or if it's something very important that could have severe consequences if interrupted?" Lori pondered, right before she bit her nails with worry. "Or worse, what if they're discussing ways to discover our secret plan?!"

"Oh, in that case, go out and stop them," Leni repeated, this time sounding a bit annoyed. Leni, annoyed and saying something smart? Something was definitely wrong.

The eldest Loud hummed to herself, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to find out what the duo were talking about. But on the one hand, she sure made an aggressive entrance to Lincoln's bedroom last night, so the boy would probably do whatever he could to make sure she wouldn't go in again.

But then, her phone rang. So of course, Lori being Lori, she answered it. "Hello, who is this?" the teenager greeted as cautiously cheerful as she could.

"Another you." said a voice similar to Lori's on the other end.

Lori and Leni immediately flinched and clutched their chests as they felt their hearts skip a beat. Lori then turned to Leni, who could only shake her head as she shrugged, clearly just as caught off-guard as her sister about the seemingly Lori-oid person on the other end.

But nevertheless, Lori took a deep breath and responded, "D-Define what you mean by, "another you. Are you like a fan of Lori Loud, or-"

"Proto-Lori." was the other voice's blunt response.

Once again, the sisters fell silent and their hearts skipped a bit. Was this the same Lori that Lincoln saw in that weird desolate dream area? If she was, how was she even capable of calling them? Wasn't she wrapped in wrapping like the other sisters?

"W-Why are you calling?" Lori inquired as Leni stopped her sewing machine and went closer to her sister.

"We need to talk."

And then, without warning, the call ended.

"Well, looks like we got to visit ourselves," Lori remarked as she put her phone back on her pockets. "Leni, please go get the objects while I make sure nobody interrupts the visit-"

"But I was about to finish my summer dress!" Leni whined, revealing the red-and-white Christmas dress she was working on.

"Leni, summer is in a couple months," Lori stated as she walked to the door and closed it. "And that's a Christmas dress!"

"Still, can't we discuss with our counterparts and, like, ask them to give us more time?" Leni suggested, putting a hand in Lori's shoulder. "I-I mean, w-whatever they want to talk about can be left for later, r-right?"

But the teenager didn't respond at first, instead she took a deep breath and gave Leni a simple order:

"Get the objects ready."

 _Meanwhile, back with Lincoln..._

The boy, after satisfying Lucy, walked straight to her and Lynn's bedroom, where he saw the athlete throwing a ball at the wall repeatedly. "Hey, Linc, what's up?" Lynn greeted without even bothering to look at her brother. "I heard Lucy moaning in your room, and to be honest, it made me curious, what exactly were you doing there?"

"I was giving Lucy, for lack of a better word, a feet massage," the boy nervously answered as he sat on Lucy's bed. "She said something about having back pains after trying to summon... Someone, and she needed the massage."

"Oh yeah, I did see her do that last night," the jock answered with a chuckle. "I thought she was just being her usual weirdo self, so I didn't pay her that much attention. Anyway, what brings you here?"

"Listen, Lynn, I get the feeling Lori and Leni are planning something, and I need to form a team in order to be able to deal with whatever their endgame is, and Lucy suggested that you could be a good member to have," Lynn grabbed the ball and stopped upon hearing the explanation. "Besides, the three girls I thought about adding are... Probably too young to be useful, so until I'm desperate enough, would you like to join my team?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Lynn took a deep breath and answered with utmost honesty as she gave her brother a look of sympathy:

"Sorry, Lincoln, but I simply can't help you. Going up against Lori is one of the craziest ideas I've heard in a while, and, it sounds like it's outright impossible. I may be a jock, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. That's Leni's job, after all! But my answer's no," the athlete stated before throwing her ball to the wall once more. "Why don't you ask Luna, though? She seems to have enough of a bad blood between Lori to give this team idea a shot."

"Maybe, but for now, I don't want to interrupt her while she's in the middle of something important," the boy got off Lucy's bed and left the room. "I'll go see if Lisa wants to join, see ya Lynn!"

The athlete silently bid farewell and Lincoln immediately went to Lisa and Lily's bedroom, where the little genius was checking an analysis while some cables were connected to Lily, who seemingly had no idea what was going on. "I must discover, how is it possible that even a baby can beat me at chess!" Lisa growled, looking at the analysis with nanoyance.

" _Well, looks like I interrupted someone in the middle of something important anyway,_ " Linc thought before he went forward. "Hello, Lisa-"

The scientist freaked out, then undid anything related to the analysis and tried to act like nothing happened. "L-Lincoln! What a surprise!" Lisa remarked, looking everywhere as she tried to look normal. "I-I totally wasn't analyzing Lily as a way to discover how to protect my fragile chess player ego-"

But Lincoln wasn't fooled. "Yes you were,"

"Yes I was," after dropping the façade, Lisa hastily added in annoyance, "Anyhow, what do you need?"

"I'm forming a team in order to discover what Leni and Lori are planning to do," the boy explained as Lisa adjusted her glasses. "And since the three options I'm thinking about are more like desperate choices, would you like to join?"

The scientist remained motionless for a while, and a mere _50 minutes_ later, Lincoln stomped his way out of the room. "You could've just told me you weren't going to join my team, instead of wasting 50 minutes telling me why you wouldn't join!" the boy hissed as Lisa close the door, paying no attention to the boy. "I mean, that stuff about the giant robot is cool and all, but why is that so important to you?!"

"The Royal Woodroid 5000 will be the ultimate success under my belt, and the people of Royal Woods will forever be grateful that a member of the Loud family created the guardian of Royal Woods!" the scientist exclaimed from inside her room. "Now if you excuse me, I must make plans to try and convince my colleagues to help me make it a reality."

A couple seconds later, Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose before he stood in front of Lana and Lola, who he just asked to join his team. They were currently thinking about it, all while the boy made it visually clear he wasn't in the mood to waste time.

"So let me get this straight," Lana remarked, scratching her butt in confusion. "You want us to help you discover what nonsense Lori and Leni are planning to do?"

"Actually, if what I believe is correct, Lori and Leni are planning something big that's related to the dimension from my dreams, the "Original Reality" as they call it, and if I want to find out more about it, I'll have to make a team," Lincoln explained, with the twins nodding as they firmly heard him. "So, the next thing I need is a lancer, or more accurately, someone who is my opposite in nearly every way."

"Right! So we need somebody who is cool, attractive, and a competent leader," Lola recapped, earning an angry look from the boy and a jab from her twin sister. "Okay, so since it's obvious who we're going to pick-"

"I'll go ask Lori-" Lana said as she headed to the door.

"No!" Lincoln exclaimed, grabbing and pulling Lana back by the neck of her shirt. "Lori's one of the antagonists! We need to find somebody who is not on her side! Now help me think, who wouldn't want to"

"I know, how about Luan?" Lola promptly suggested as Lana suplexed Lincoln. "After all, she wouldn't want to go anywhere near Lori after the way she attacked her last night. Besides, if what I heard from her sleeping with you last night is correct, you two have a very good relationship."

"Lincoln and Luan slept together last night?!" Lana exclaimed before giving her brother a sly look. "Lincoln, you dirty playboy!"

"Anyway, I guess she could be some good comic relief, but that still leaves the lancer, the tough guy and the smart guy," Lincoln remarked as the twins laughed at their joke. "I mean, I can get Lana to be the tough guy and Lola to be the lancer-"

"I knew it!" Lola shouted, lifting her fist victoriously. "You may call me from now on, Queen Lola!"

"Really? I thought you'd want to be a princess," Lana remarked.

"Yeah, but queens have a lot more power, and look a lot hotter than princesses," the girl then struck a pose. "Which perfectly fits me!"

"But since you're going to be my second in command, that would make you... I don't know, automatically a princess?" Lincoln pointed out.

"Fine then, you can be the queen."

After thinking about it for a moment, Lincoln turned to the readers and pointed at Lola as he said "Princess Lola everybody!" while Lana applauded and cheers were heard from seemingly nowhere. "Now, who's going to be the smart guy?"

And then Lisa entered the room. "Lincoln, I've thought about your proposition," the little genius remarked as Lincoln noticed her, then slowly took his attention off her. "And I'll be honest, you're probably going to need me. So yes, I'll join you in your quest."

"It has to be someone with quite a large intelligence, regardless of age," Lincoln remarked, walking around Lisa in an act of feigned ignorance.

"I don't know if it counts, and I'd rather not brag about it, but I have the guiness record for intelligence at a very young age," Lisa confessed, showing her picture on a record book to the boy... Who basically continued to ignore her. "And if somebody tells you otherwise, they're a liar."

"Someone who's going to be loyal to us no matter what happens," Lincoln at this point tried not to laugh out loud. At this point, the twins were holding back their laughter and Lisa was starting to grow annoyed with the boy.

"Again, I'm willing to be the smart person in your team!" Lisa exclaimed, stomping the ground and flailing her arms up and down. "Come on, Lincoln, pay me attention!"

"Someone who won't waste my time with a large exposition about why they won't join my team, and how my quest is ultimately pointless, when my self-confidence is already at an all-time low!" Linc growled... Before stopping, as he started feeling dizzy from the walking in circles part.

Lisa immediately shut up at the last part, and when she saw her brother giving her a look, she folded her arms behind her back and looked at the ground. "Yeah, sorry about it," she said, right before she stuttered. "B-But to apologize for it, I brought someone who could help us!"

The little genius tried to whistle, but when she failed to do it, she simply left, then returned with Luan. "Hi everyone," the comedian casually greeted. "I'll be here all week, so you don't have to put me right away, hehehe!"

"Luan?" Lincoln blurted as he walked to the prankster. From what he could see, she was perfectly fine... In body at least. "Uh, how are you holding up?"

Luan crouched down and brushed Lincoln's hair as she gave her answer. "Good, I guess, at the very least Luna has been helping me sleep a lot better since... The incident. Anyhow, Lisa told me you were forming a team for some investigation, and I was wondering if I could join you. So, can I?"

"Are you sure you want to?" the boy replied, sounding legitimately worried as he grabbed Luan's remaining hand. At the very least, the comedian did seem to be flattered by the fact he cared enough to ask for her opinion. "I'm not forcing you to join, specially since we're going up against Leni and... Lori."

The comedian's sudden response was that of a brief freak out, followed by her catching her breath as she clutched her chest. However, she soon managed to calm down and reply, with a forced smile, "Hey, if I can bring some entertainment and levity to the situation, I don't see why I can't give it a shot. Besides, it's not like you're going to send me to deal with Lori on my own, right? So, do you mind?"

Though hesitant at first, a puppy-dog eyes look from Luan was all it took for Lincoln to decide to let her join. And so, with this team complete, the boy lifted his fist and proclaimed, "Alright, so this is the team we got: Lisa, Lana, Lola, Luan and I! Together, we'll be known as Team Lincoln!"

"Or Team Louds," the twins suggested.

"How about Team Work?" Luan blurted, chuckling at her joke before adding, "Get it?"

"I'd like to suggest for Loud 5/11," Lisa said as she adjusted her glasses.

And Lincoln, of course, was the last to speak. "Well, we'll decide the name of the team later. But most importantly, we'll discover just what are Lori and Leni up to! What's the deal with the original reality! And... Uh..."

"What we're going to have for lunch!" Luan blurted, raising her fist victoriously.

The other teammates did the same and shouted "Yeah!" with excitement, and some giggles. And then someone shouted "Shut up!" from outside the house.

 _Back with Lori and Leni..._

Lori and Leni rested on their bed, holding a pair of glasses and a phone that looked similar to the ones Lincoln found in the weird dream place. "Are you ready?" Lori asked her sister, who could only nervously nod in response.

So, the pair closed their eyes and fell asleep, upon which they were transported into the dream realm Lincoln went to. Only this time, they were on a platform that looked like a crude mix between two other platforms, and the seemingly void background was both light blue and seafoam green.

"Okay, here we are," Lori remarked as she took a look around the desolate wasteland. "Now where is Proto-Lori?"

" _I'm over here, you moron._ "

The girl, alongside Proto-Leni, suddenly appeared above Leni and Lori respectively, still wrapped in the same wrapping they were in when Lincoln saw them. And once Lori and Leni noticed this, they immediately turned around and bowed to the duo.

" _W-We got your message,_ " Lori stated through telepathy. " _What do you need to talk with us about?_ "

" _Is it true? About what happened yesterday?_ " Proto-Lori mentally responded.

" _There was an uproar at Luan's realm,_ " Proto-Leni added, causing the pair to flinch and take a step back. " _Lana and specially Luan told us that Lincoln appeared in her realm... With her impostor. Is this true?_ "

" _W-Well-_ " Leni thought.

" _Is this true?_ " Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni asked again, this time sounding both annoyed and aggressive.

The duo took another step back, then exchanged looks before nodding and answering, " _Y-Yes, it's true: Lincoln, through some unknown mean, found the joke flower that belonged to Luan. Then, he and our Luan spoke with Proto-Luan and... Well, a fight broke out._ "

" _But I and Proto-Lana managed to defeat Proto-Luan!_ " Lori hastily added.

" _And yet, you allowed Lincoln to escape,_ " Proto-Lori stated, shutting up her... Counterpart? " _Please tell me you at least know what happened to the joke flower._ "

" _Luan still has it in her possession._ "

" _Then there's the chance they may return,_ " Proto-Leni theorized before giggling to herself. " _That oughta be interesting! I can't wait to see Lincoln again!_ "

" _That is_ if _we see him again,_ " Proto-Lori state, right before turning back to the duo. "Listen up, you two, I want you to make a search through this reality and make sure the other sisters have their items. If they don't, see if you can find them in your reality before Lincoln does. Until then, you're dismissed."

" _But what do we do about him?_ " Leni inquired. " _I mean, according to Lori, he may be forming a team in order to find out about our plans-_ "

Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni, quite simply, exploded.

" _Then you better make sure they stay out of our way!_ "

Suddenly, the grey lifeless background became blood red, with multiple eye-like moons looking directly at Lori and Leni as Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni's eyes turned red with dark sclera. Not only that, but the girls fell to their knees and covered their ears as glowing lines appeared down their eyes and onto their arms, with the lines being dark blue for Leni and seafoam green for Lori.

However, both girls cried in pain as they forcefully cried tears just as their proto counterparts did, and they spoke with authoritarian voices:

" _You know as well as we do that Lincoln is the key making our plans succeed! To give our sisters the freedom they deserve!_ "

And then Proto-Lori seemingly sent a shockwave at Leni, forcefully causing her to uncover her ears and listen to demonic voices saying "You're a rip-off!", "Begone from our world!", "stop existing!", among other things, as Proto-Lori continued to speak:

" _But most importantly, that he deserves to be with his true sisters, his true family, and not a bunch of pathetic carbon copies! And if you fail to do that one simple order, we'll just make sure you regret this for eternity! If we don't get the chance of seeing Lincoln again, we'll use you as our personal punching bags and stress balls, existing only to appease our tormented minds as we fill your minds with unpleasant imagery and nightmares!_ "

Then Proto-Leni did the same to Lori as she added, "And spiders!"

The duo breathed heavily as they clutched their chests, feeling their hearts beat faster than before as they turned to look back at their prototype counterparts, who finished with a simple order:

" _So tuck your tails between your legs, and get out!_ "

In that moment, Lori and Leni woke up screaming and looked around to see they were back in their room, with someone banging the door rather violently. "Lori! Leni! Let us in!" a voice sounding like Mr. Loud asked from the outside.

Lori, feeling weak from the experience, got off her bed and, carrying Leni with her, she unlocked the door and opened it to see both of their parents, Rita and Lynn Sr., standing outside. However, what they saw horrified them.

Lori and Leni were not only crying and looking weak from the torment, but their eyes had turned large, pleading puppy-dog eyes, and they just barely gathered enough energy to stand still. Heck, Leni looked like she was about to break down any minute now!

"What happened to you?" Rita asked as she and her husband helped their daughters stabilize themselves.

Lori gave Leni a look, and then she shook her head as Leni simply answered:

"N-Nothing, it was just... A spider..."

Relieved she didn't expose them, Lori and Leni hugged each other while their parents comforted them.

 _Meanwhile, at Lucy and Lynn's bedroom..._

The athlete bounced a ball off the wall repeatedly while Lucy tried to focus on her poetry book, with the constant noise the bounce made causing her to go back to square one. Then, without warning, the phone rang and Lucy tried to answer, only for Lynn to snatch it and look to see it was... A message from Polly Pain.

"Ugh, it's just another one of Polly's messages," the jock hung up the call. "Seriously, she's called so often and been rejected just as much I'm surprised she even bothers anymore."

The phone rang again, but instead of Polly, the screen said it was from someone named Heloise. Lucy, with some difficulty, stole the phone from Lynn's arms and answered the call.

"Hello?" the goth greeted in her deadpan tone.

When she got a fellow "hello" in response, the goth flinched, then tried to sneak her way out of the room... Until she hit a wall and alerted Lynn. However, the athlete just watched as the poet recovered, looked for the door, then left the room. And then she heard her fall down the stairs, so she went downstairs and helped Lucy get up while the goth looked for the phone.

Which Lynn picked up. "Hello?"

"Lucy, this is Haiku," the voice from the other line said. "I wanted to discuss where we could do our next lesson."

Upon hearing that, Lynn got a playful smile and spoke as Lucy got up and tried to snatch the phone back. "She's not here at the moment, but if you want, we could talk instead. But don't worry, I'll tell her everything. We're roommates after all."

"Oh, you must be Lucy's sister! Well, here's a message for you," Haiku replied, before shouting, "Get that girl's butt right here before I go up to your house, look for her myself, and shove this phone right up your hole!"

Surprisingly, Lynn actually seemed startled from the response. "W-Which hole?"

"The most uncomfortable one!" the poet answered at the top of her lungs. "And if you don't do it right now, I'll definitely come to your house, pick the sharpest thing around, and force it up your hole!"

The athlete promptly handed the phone to the goth, said "It's for you." and hastily made her way back upstairs. "What did you tell her?" the goth asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That doesn't matter, I was just joking to get her to hand you the phone," Haiku answered with a giggle, which caused Lucy to blush. Her laughter was one of the few things that could actually warm Lucy's normally downbeat heart. "Anyway, where would you like to have your next poetry lesson?"

"T-The park would be nice," the goth answered, blushing and playing with her hair. "W-When are you available?"

"Well, I guess I can go there on the evening or the noon, around 2 pm." the gothic poet then pointed something out. "Also, I'm sensing some shyness coming from you, is something wrong?"

Lucy fell silent, but was relieved by Haiku's add-on, "Nevermind, I don't have the time to ask any further, I have to go see Polly and Tabby perform at the poetry club with Giggles. So, see you at the park tomorrow at 2 pm?"

"S-Sure!"

"Alright, don't be late! You know how much I hate it when you're late."

"R-Right."

The goth hung the phone and looked at the ground as she caught her breath. " _Oh dang, that was so stressful._ " she thought as she walked back upstairs...Or so she thought, for she actually left the house. " _Alright, now I just need to practice my poetry before tomorrow, and since when does the 2nd floor has grass in it?_ "

Then she realized her mistake and ran back inside, but not before hitting the wall.

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

"Who are you and what do you want?" the comedian sternly inquired, crossing her arms.

"H-How did you know I was here?!" Luna asked in response as she got up and dusted herself.

"Are you serious? This is my personal he-I mean, domain!" Proto-Luan proclaimed in a melodramatic tone, with enough volume in her voice so that it echoed across the location for a couple seconds. "As long as I'm not too distracted with taking advantage of the small window of time I have to entertain myself, I know everything about this place!"

Then the girl aimed her staff at the rocker wannabe. "Again, who are you, and what do you want?"


	6. Mooning Daydream

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln, Luan, Lisa and the twins joined forces and created Team Lincoln, with the sole mission to discover Lori and Leni's plans.**

 ** _"Alright, so this is the team we got: Lisa, Lana, Lola, Luan and I! Together, we'll be known as Team Lincoln!"_**

 **Meanwhile, Lori and Leni spoke with their prototype counterparts, and were tasked to continue doing their job and making sure that they continued to help them reach their endgame. Simply put, they were not very nice.**

 **" _So tuck your tails between your legs, and get out!_ "**

 **And last, but not least, one hang up and one set up happen with Lucy and Lynn, as the latter hangs up on Polly, and the former sets up a poetry lesson date with Haiku.**

 ** _"So, see you at the park tomorrow at 2 pm?"_**

 ** _"S-Sure!"_**

 ** _"Alright, don't be late! You know how much I hate it when you're late."_**

 ** _"R-Right."_**

 **How will the team fare? Will Lynn's hanging up on Polly have bigger consequences than expected? Find out now, maybe, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: From the New to the Old! Luna Enters the Original Reality!**

* * *

The scenery around the poetry club had the same atmosphere as always: Downbeat and pessimistic at a glance, but with potential hope if you bothered to look deeper inside. It didn't take long for Haiku to find the person she was looking for, mostly because Giggles' attire made her stand out so much from the crowd, it wasn't even funny.

"Hi, Ku!" Giggles chirped as the gothic poet sat next to her. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Why did you-?" the goth asked, only to suddenly realize what Giggles did when she flashed a little smile at her. Not that Haiku minded, she actually chuckled at the fact. "Oh, you clever jerk."

"Hey, I work with what I got," Giggles shrugged.

"So, do you know if Tabby and Polly are going to start anytime soon?" the poet turned to the empty stage and frowned. "I'm not complaining, I'd rather hear their duet from start to finish, but shouldn't they have started a while ago?"

The clown girl, however, wasn't really worried about it. "Yeah, I'm wondering that too, but hey, maybe they just need time to get ready for the show. Even professionals need to calm their minds before performing."

Haiku thought about the clown's words as she continued to look at the empty stage, her mind constantly asking why were the pair taking so long.

Speaking of which, at the backstage, Polly looked at her phone with a frown as the screen of "CALL ENDED" flashed right in front of her. Not helping matters was that an angry Tabby-carrying a sousaphone-stomped her way to the tomboy with a look of pure fury.

"Polly, what's taking you so long!?" the mini rocker scolded while Polly continued to look at her phone, though she at least glanced at her companion. "We should've started a while ago, I know you want Lynn to come but-"

However, once the tomboy revealed her frown to her partner, Tabby went from angry and frustrated to worried and sympathetic. "You almost never frown unless you're upset... What happened?" she asked as she put a hand on Polly's shoulder.

"Lynn... Lynn isn't coming," the tomboy answered, choking on her words. "I called her, she said she was too busy with something to come here, and besides, poetry wasn't really interesting to her-"

And then Tabby became angry again. "Are you kidding me!? You mean to tell me she's too busy to pay this place a visit to see you again, after she's basically been ignoring you ever since the Sadie Hawkins dance!?" the rocker growled as she paced back and forth and Polly... Just looked at the ground, her hair obscuring her eyes. "Seriously, what's wrong with that girl?"

"What isn't wrong with her!?" Polly blurted, catching Tabby's attention. "Ever since the Sadie Hawkins dance, she hasn't spoken with me, she hasn't paid me any visits, and to make matters worse, when she called the roller derby team to help her with something, she didn't even bother to give me a call!"

"Wouldn't you have rejected the suggestion, though?" the rocker quickly pointed out.

This didn't do anything to help her partner, though. "It still wouldn't have hurt to ask for my opinion, would it?"

And then Polly basically got on the ground and got on a fetal position, her head resting on her knees while Tabby could only look in pity. That is, until Tabby lifted her head and spoke, while looking straight at the tomboy's tearful frown.

"Listen up, Polly, I know your situation with Lynn is a problematic one, but we don't focus on that right now. What we do need to focus on now is to provide all these up and coming poets some good, if a little bit moody, ambiance. It's what we've been doing for a while now, right? Then why just stop it just because that Lynnhole didn't decide to pay us a visit?"

"Tabby..." Polly forced a smile.

"Come on now," Tabby extended her hand towards the roller skater. "Let's put on a show, alright?"

Feeling her motivation resurface once more, Polly wiped off her tears and grabbed Tabby's hand. And so, the duo went to the stage, and were received with the best positive cheering poets could give: constant finger snapping.

"Oh look, they're about to start," Giggles remarked, her excitement growing from "Average" to "Fired up" in a matter of seconds. "This is going to be good!"

Haiku just smiled and listened as the duo started to play a smooth, slow-paced jazz theme, with Tabby blowing the sousaphone and Polly playing the drums nearby. The club patrons tilted their heads to the beat, though Giggles remained still once she realized something.

"You know, I'm surprised I didn't noticed until now, but this song is rather... Suggestive, don't you think?" the clown girl asked as Haiku stopped tilting her head and turned to her. "Almost as if this was the prelude to some rather lewd stuff. That, or kissing or stuff."

"Well, some say poets get their inspiration through different means, so I'm pretty sure someone will be inspired by this music no matter what..." Haiku answered, while Giggles raised an eyebrow, confused at the response. "Besides, this is my favorite tune."

"Why?" was Giggles only response.

Instead of answering, Haiku just looked at the ceiling and saw an illusion of Lucy smiling and tilting her head to the beat, bringing a smile to her face.

 _Next day, at the Loud's living room..._

Team Lincoln-and Lily, who was being held by Luan-gathered around the couch while Lincoln looked for any sign of whether Lori or Leni were approaching. After all, wouldn't it just suck that they appeared just as the team started their discussion?

"Okay, it seems like Lori and Leni are not coming down here anytime soon," Lincoln stated with confidence before he sat next to Luan. "Lisa, begin the discussion before anything happens!"

"First of all, I think you mentioned you had an idea to add three other girls to the team," Lisa remarked, causing Lincoln to flinch and everybody to turn to him. "Who were those girls you were talking about?"

"That's not really important right now. Besides, the girls I was going to suggest, now that I think about it, work a better as scout units more than anything, so I called them up, convinced them to join us as scout units and all that jazz, but don't worry, I'll tell you more about them some other time," Lincoln hastily explained, rubbing the back of his head nervously. "So, now that we have that out of the way, can you please start the discussion?"

"Alright then, might as well get on with this," and so the genius took out a ruler and aimed her siblings' attention to a whiteboard, with a drawing of Lincoln in the dream realm in it. Or at least, a crude version of it. "I'd like to give special thanks to our sister Lily, who took the time to draw what Lincoln told her on the whiteboard to further help us explain."

The baby clapped while sucking a marker, which Luan took out soon afterwards.

And then the little genius spoke. "So, according to what Lincoln told us, he found himself in some weird dimension one night, and he could return to specific parts of that dimension."

"I saw one of those places with him; we went to sleep with some joke flower I found, and boom, we were suddenly there," Luan blurted with slight hesitation, the memories of the fight flashing in her mind. "There was somebody who looked like me over there, and long story short, she tried to kill me before someone who looked like Lana and Lori appeared and saved us both."

"So Lori has access to that place as well, and seems to be planning something with Leni," Lisa added as she switched drawings. Now the whiteboard had a drawing of Lori and Leni in it. And notably, this one was better drawn than the last one. "That could prove to be problematic but let's stay focused: So, if we're going to do this, we need to keep an eye on where those two are at all times."

"We could do that!" Lana suggested, raising her arm. "We've been taking classes with Lucy on how to fail to be noticed by everyone, so we should be able to follow them without being spotted."

"Right, and everybody else will look for similarly weird objects to enter the dimension," Lisa said, before changing from a drawing to a list. "This is the list of objects we're looking for, as provided by Lincoln. Any questions?"

"I have one!" Luan shouted, raising her hand and catching her siblings' attention. "Is what you just said just the strate- _gist_ of it?"

Everybody groaned at the pun while Luan laughed at her own joke... Alongside Lily. Then again, the baby was still too young to know about proper comedy. So Lisa remarked, "Anyhow, memorize or write down what was just said."

"And next we'll separate to begin the investigation!" Lincoln added. "I'll make sure to call the three scout agents I included to help us look for the objects, and then, we'll reunite to say how we've been doing, got it?"

Everybody nodded, wrote down the information, then promptly separated and begun looking around.

And once they left the living, Luna walked downstairs and approached the library, wherein she found a particular brown box, with the four-digit password digits showing "1856" and some other random numbers from 0001 to 9000. Looks like somebody had tried to crack it open before. Probably Lori.

Of course, since the rocker wannabe knew Luan better than anybody else, she cracked her fingers and then input "0401" on the password, which unlocked the box. She then opened it, took the joke flower and quickly close the box before she bolted for her and Luan's room.

And luckily for her, the comedian wasn't there either.

So Luna went to her bed, clutched the joke flower and fell asleep, sending her straight to Not-Luan's section of Lincoln's dream world... Where the first thing she saw was Lori, with her arms outstretched, seemingly unsealing Not-Luan from the yellow wrapping. This made the rocker immediately hide behind some rubble just before Lori turned to check around.

" _What is Lori doing here?_ " Luna pondered as Lori returned to her business and unsealed Not-Luan. Upon hearing the unsealing, she came out of hiding and saw Not-Luan hitting the ground face-first. " _And what is she doing with that girl that looks like Luan?_ "

"Okay, Luan, I'm giving you 30 minutes to do whatever you want, but once time's up, you'll return to your seal," Lori told Not-Luan as she got up and dusted herself. "I'll go see if I can unseal Luna to accompany you, but for now, enjoy some alone time, got it?"

"Sure," Not-Luan answered with slight melancholy.

Lori nodded, then shot a blast up in the sky, which created a light blue portal upon exploding. She then flew-yes, _flew_ -through it and the portal vanished from existence.

And then Proto-Luan turned around and raised her staff, which glowed yellow as Luna was telekinetically taken out of her hiding spot, then throw down the ground until she was right in front of the girl.

"Who are you and what do you want?" the comedian sternly inquired, crossing her arms.

"H-How did you know I was here?!" Luna asked in response as she got up and dusted herself.

"Are you serious? This is my personal he-I mean, domain!" Proto-Luan proclaimed in a melodramatic tone, with enough volume in her voice so that it echoed across the location for a couple seconds. "As long as I'm not too distracted with taking advantage of the small window of time I have to entertain myself, I know everything about this place!"

Then the girl aimed her staff at the rocker wannabe. "Again, who are you, and what do you want?"

"L-Listen, Love, I just wanted to see what got Lori so riled up against Lincoln and Luan, nothing more!" the musician hastily explained herself, glancing at the staff as she hoped the Luan lookalike would understand. And seeing as Proto-Luan lowered her weapon, it seemed to be working. "Once I figure out what happened, I'll get out of here, promise!"

Proto-Luan thought about it, but most importantly what Luna just called her. "Love? That's what Luna used to call me... And you do seem to look like her," so of course, she soon put two and two together and...

"No way, you're her impostor!"

Well, it was a good shot.

"W-Wait, I'm the real Luna!"

"Nice try, impostor, but the instant you called me Love, you showed yourself as a copy of my beloved Luna! And this time, I won't fail to defeat you!"

Proto-Luan raised her staff, then shot a series of lighting bolts at the sky. However, unlike last time, all this did was cause the seemingly void background to shoot lighting bolts from every direction, while Luna frantically jumped and rolled and did anything she could to dodge the attacks. However, even this was not enough, since a lighting bolt came from the ground and struck her, successfully paralyzing her right in place.

However, with that done, Proto-Luan just looked at her with surprise as the lighting bolts ceased firing. "Oh my goodness, I actually did it!" the girl exclaimed, jumping and throwing her fists in the air. "I caught a copy! I caught an impostor!"

And as the lighting comedian continued to cheer, Luna could only ponder what she could do now. Moving was out of the question, since no matter how hard she tried, she remained suspended in the air. Calling for help was also out of the question, since not only couldn't she move her mouth, but who the heck would hear her in... Wherever she even was?

And then Proto-Luan stopped cheering. "Okay, let's get back to business," she turned back to Luna and aimed her staff at her, which charged itself with yellow energy as Proto-Luan couldn't hold her excitement. "To think I'll finally break one of the chains of reality, after so many years spent in stasis... Oh, I'm so excited!"

" _Chains of reality?_ " Luna thought.

But just as Proto-Luan shot a beam of lighting at the rockstar, Lori-as in, normal Lori-appeared out of nowhere and slapped the beam away, causing it to explode once it... Collided with the background, perhaps?

"Lori, what are you doing here?!" Proto-Luan whined, stomping the ground. "I was about to break one of the chains holding everyone down!"

The teenager moved away and pointed at the joke flower Luna still held, which made Proto-Luan... Upset. "Ugh, nevermind, she doesn't have the right item, it wouldn't work eitherway," the comedian turned around and sat down. "Go ahead and free her, what you do with her at this point doesn't matter."

So Lori snapped her fingers, and Luna was immediately freed from paralysis. "Phew, thanks Lori," Luna, finally able to speak again, said as she handed Lori the joke flower. "So, I wanted to see why you got so angry at Luan, and since it has to do with this flower, I was wondering-"

Suddenly, Lori aimed her fingers at Luna's forehead as if they were a gun and then "shot" them, with an audible pistol sound. Despite no bullets coming out, Luna still felt part of her brain be blown apart as she was sent flying off the platform and onto the abyss, all while a deep masculine voice shouted "Headshot!" with disturbing delight.

And then she woke up back in her and Luan's bedroom, no worse for the wear. Wait, didn't Lori shoot her? How was she still alive?!

But most importantly, where did the joke flower go?!

 _Back downstairs..._

Luan looked repeatedly across the living room and the kitchen for any of the items mentioned in the list, with very little luck. But it wasn't long before she did manage to find something that caught her attention: The box she put the joke flower, with the correct password input.

So the comedian opened the box, and saw that the flower, of course, was no longer there. But she had no time to panic over it, since somebody just so happened to arrive right then and there.

No worries, though, it was only Lynn.

"Yo, sis," the jock greeted as she walked to the comedian. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm good, for now at least," the prankster answered as the jock brushed her hair in a surprisingly gentle manner. Then again, she wasn't complaining... "And I'm definitely going to feel better once-"

It wasn't long before she remembered one crucial detail: Lynn and Lori didn't like each other. After all, on one side, you have an immature and rather childish-at times, but still-teenage girl who gets angry at the drop of a hat and is incredibly aggressive in general, and on the other side, you have Lynn.

" _I was utterly terrified when Lori confronted me that night! Who knows what could happen if the hothead that's Lynn, who could also catch Lori's attention, got involved in this investigation thing!?_ " the comedian gasped, separated from Lynn and promptly, and rather shyly, tried to bid farewell. "Uh... Nevermind, I-"

"Luan, you know how this works: If you imply you're hiding something, then whoever you implied that to-in this case me-has to find out eventually," Lynn jokingly remarked with a chuckle. "So you either tell me what's up right now, or I'll pester you to tell me."

Though hesitant about it, Luan was very much against the idea of Lynn potentially pestering her to know what she was going to say. It was just a possibility, sure, but it could still happen. So she answered:

"Lincoln, Lola, Lana, Lisa and I are going to find out whatever Lori and Leni are planning to do."

Upon hearing that, Lynn stopped brushing the hair, then remained silent up until she blurted, sounding completely dumbfounded in the process, "I'm sorry, what?"

Luan took a look around to see nobody else was nearby, then pulled Lynn closer to her before whispering:

"Do you remember when Lori made such an scandal last night that it drove me to tears? Well, the reason is, I took the joke flower that used to be in this box, and Lincoln and I went to some sort of alternate dimension, where someone who looked like me appeared. Then she attacked us, but Lori and someone who looked like Lana appeared and save us. Then Lori got mad, we returned back to our world, and then the scene happened."

With that little tidbit of information, Luan released Lynn and took a deep breath as she waited for her sister's response. However, instead of being surprised or curious, the teenager was absolutely baffled. Then again, seeing what she just told about...

"Okay, how many of my balls did you trip on... Before hitting a wall? Because there's no way you were perfectly sane when that happened," Lynn stated. "I mean, you and Lincoln entered an alternate? What's next, are you going to tell me that Lana's copycat had a wrench-sword hybrid?"

Luan thought about it, then sheepishly asked, "Should I?"

"Luan, I'm not really in the mood to deal with shenanigans that are far crazier than what we deal with on a daily basis," the athlete replied. "Listen, if you need someone to comfort you, I'm here, but please keep me out of this mess."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to force you to join," the comedian replied, all while she thought. " _In fact, I'd rather have you stay as far away from us as possible._ "

The duo shared nods and Lynn left as Lincoln arrived, nearly crashing into Lynn in the process, and caught Luan's attention. "Um, Luan? We need to regroup at Lisa and Lily's bedroom. Apparently, Luna has something to tell us."

"Luna?!"

And so, Luan and Lincoln headed straight for the room... Or in Lincoln's case, he would've, had he not caught Lynn's attention.

"Hey, Lincoln?" the athlete blurted while blocking Lincoln's path. "Luan told me about how you made your team... And I think I have some... Questions, regarding your choices for teammates."

"If you want to replace Lana as the member whose all brawn, then I'm sorry, but I already promised Lana she would remain in my team no matter what," Lincoln replied, waving his hand straight at Lynn's face. "And besides, I'm kind of scared of what could happen when you inevitably wind up angered. I can withstand Lana's attacks if she ever gets angry, but yours..."

"Well, that hurt me on the inside," Lynn answered, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms as the boy scratched the back of his head with slight regret. Oh, and sarcasm too. "No, I need to know why you put Luan on your team, when you know how bad she had it when Lori barged into your room and the whole night fiasco."

"I didn't put her by my own decision: Lisa brought her on board and she decided to stay," the boy nervously replied. "I asked her if she was sure about it, and-"

"Lincoln, you know how scared she was when Lori attacked her! She and Luna fought over it so hard that they broke some walls!" the jock growled, giving Lincoln the pointer finger. "In fact, how will Luna react when she finds out you put Luan, on your team, without her knowledge?!"

The boy took a step back. Yes, he had a bit of a problem of not thinking things through in regards of his plans, but this one was a particularly bad miscalculation. Nevertheless, the boy rushed past Lynn and went straight for Lisa and Lily's bedroom, all while the jock gave him a look of disapproval.

Then she walked back to her and Lucy's bedroom, only to find Lori and Leni in there, with the latter trying to force Lucy to wear her Christmas dress. In particular, Lucy was moving in a way mplying she had no idea what she was doing at all.

"W-W-What are you doing here?!" Lynn asked, taking a step beck.

"Relax, we only want to talk with you," Lori answered, snapping her fingers and, supposedly, causing the door to close right behind Lynn. "And Leni needed to try her Christmas dress on someone, and she figured Lucy would be the perfect candidate."

"Please, Lucy, just put this on for a second!" Leni pleaded as she tried to put the dress on the goth. "I promise you will, like, look really cute in it!"

"I don't want to look cute!" Lucy exclaimed, earning a sarcastic "too late" from Lori that fell in deaf ears. "I want to look dark, brooding, pretentious! Haiku won't accept any other type of fashion style!"

"Lucy, you'll always be like that no matter what happens, putting on a little dress won't change that," Lori told the goth, who luckily didn't catch the insult, before she turned back to the jock. "Now, Lynn, there's something we need to discuss, right here, right now."

 _Back at Lisa and Lily's bedroom..._

"Lori did what?!" Lincoln shouted in disbelief.

Lincoln, alongside Luan, Lana, Lola and Lisa, watched as Luna looked at the ground and continued with her explanation.

"I wound up in the same dream place.. Dimension... Whatever that you found yourself, I met with a girl who looked like Luan, but Lori saved me in the nick of time," Luna explained, shivering as she remembered her last moments before waking up. "But just as I handed her back the joke flower, she placed her fingers in front of me and... And she shot me."

"But how could it be possible for her to actually kill you like that?" Lisa pondered out loud, catching her siblings' attention. "Even if she had a gun with her at the moment, how would she even know killing you wouldn't... Well, just kill you instead of taking you back to the real world?"

"How am I supposed to know?!" Luna snapped, only calming down once she saw her siblings flinch and take a step back. Lincoln in particular, since seeing who was usually one of his sisters act like this... "The point is, I was there, and then I wasn't. And now, we lost the joke flower because of me."

"Don't beat yourself up for it, Luna," Lincoln remarked, putting a hand in the rocker's shoulder. "You didn't knew it was more important to keep it than to give it back. Besides..."

Then the boy turned to his remaining sisters, with a stern, serious look on his face.

"We still got some things to discuss..."

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

The jock jumped and turned around to see _not_ Lucy, but Luna, who was drinking some tea. "Did you learn how to sneak up on people from Lucy or something?!" Lynn audably complained, stomping the ground. "Besides, don't you find drinking tea just a bit too British for you? I mean, you already imitate the accent, but drinking tea-"

"I know it's a bit offensive, or at least I think it is, but I need to do something to calm myself down after what happened between me and Lori," the rocker wannabe answered, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took a deep breath. Lynn promptly took a seat next to her, feeling like something was bothering her. "But this isn't about me, go on, tell me what happened between you two."

"No, go on, tell me what Lori did to you," the jock responded, grabbing Luna's shoulder as she gave her a reassuring look. "I'm willing to listen. Specially if it gives me more evidence that Lori needs to be put on restraint. Besides, I'll keep this between us, promise."

Hearing the "promise" part, Luna turned to Lynn and, feeling slightly comfortable with the jock's smile, yet also unnerved at how the usually aggressive athlete was acting, Luna took another deep breath... And returned the smile.


	7. Sub Groups

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, amongst other things, Luna managed to enter the original reality and tried to converse with the Other Luan, only to be narrowly saved by Lori, who promptly shot her... And sent her back to her bed somehow.**

 **In other news, Lynn found out about Lincoln adding Luan to the team, and remembering how their last encounter went like, she wasn't pleased.**

 ** _"Lincoln, you know how scared she was when Lori attacked her! She and Luna fought over it so hard that they broke some walls!"_ **

**However, once she gave her brother the benefit of the doubt and went back to her and Lucy's bedroom, she found nasty surprise in there: Lori, sitting on her bed, and Leni, doing the most unspeakable; Trying to force to put on a cheesy Christmas sweater!**

 ** _"Now, Lynn, there's something we need to discuss, right here, right now."_**

 **And back at Lisa and Lily's bedroom, Luna told the team about her encounter with Lori, and so, Lincoln said:**

 **"We still got some things to discuss..."**

 **What are these things they'll discuss? What does Lori want with Lynn? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: The Poet, The Jock, and The Other Dimension! Team Lincoln Establishes Sub-Groups!**

* * *

 _Back at Lucy and Lynn's bedroom..._

Lori and Lynn sat on the jock's bed while Lucy and Leni sat on the other bed. Leni had successfully put the Christmas dress on the poet, and despite not looking any different than usual, it was rather clear she wasn't very happy about it.

"Don't tell anybody about this," Lucy sternly asked.

"No worries, it'll be our little secret," Leni said, giving her gothic sister a wink.

Back with Lori and Lynn, the phone-obsessed teenager reached for her back, then took out a football... That looked exactly like the one featured in Lincoln's dream. "I found this under your pillow," "Can you please ease my fears and tell me if this belongs to you?"

Instead of just outright saying the ball belonged to her, as if there was anything ball-related Lynn would be the one behind it, the athlete took a look at the football... And didn't recognize it.

"Nope, that doesn't belong to me," Lynn stated, shaking her head. "In fact, I've never seen this thing before."

"Just as I feared, it didn't ease my worries at all," but just as Lynn handed back the football, Lori remember a promise she made a while ago. "Lynn, do me a favor and go to sleep with this thing in your hand."

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

Not wanting to anger the teenager any further, Lynn rested on her bed and, holding the football on her hands, fell asleep. She soon found herself in the dream place, but with a red background... And a large football field covering the whole platform, and a Royal Woods Roosters player in the middle of the field.

"I don't know what place this is, but I like it already!" Lynn remarked as Lori flew down to her. "Oh hey, Lori, when did you arrive?"

"That doesn't matter," Lori then forced Lynn to look at the football player. "Take a look at that."

Once Lynn saw the football player take off their helmet, they revealed themselves to be Proto-Lynn, who was notably missing two of her front teeth. Kind of like Lola and Lana.

"Is that... Me?!" Lynn remarked, partially in shock, partially in curiosity. "L-Lori, what is the meaning of this?"

"The meaning of this is a test," Lori nonchalantly answered, putting her hands on Lynn's shoulders as she leaned closer to her, then whispered, "I think I remember some people saying that the only person strong enough to defeat you would be yourself, and now that we're here, we can get some confirmation. Good luck."

With that said, Lynn only barely registered what Lori meant as the teenager flew up away from Lynn's reach. "H-Hey, wait! That doesn't answer my question at all!" Lynn whined as Proto-Lynn noticed her soon afterwards. "How am I supposed to defeat myself?!"

"So, you returned after all..."

The athlete, acting rather terrified, slowly turned around to see Proto-Lynn giving her an annoyed glare. However, the girl wasn't angry or confused by Lynn's appearance, instead, she was just that: annoyed. It's almost as if she had seen her before...

"L-Listen, buddy, I don't know what this place is all about or why you look so much like me-" Lynn hesitantly explained, not wanting to anger her look-alike. And figuring the look-alike was more than just alike in looks, it would be very easy to anger her.

"I bet you don't. After all, "He" made sure everyone's memory of us was erased when He made the new world," Proto-Lynn replied, chuckling to herself as she crossed her arms. "And now, you somehow managed to enter my realm, perhaps just to torment me once again with your mere existence."

"I'm sorry, what?" Lynn asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're one of the chains of reality," the prototype athlete answered before explaining herself. "A physical link, a living macguffin even, that keeps this place we call "the original reality" as it currently is. If you die, if any of your sisters die, then the realities will become easier to manipulate. To contort. To merge. And, by extension, killing a specific chain will free their corresponding prisoner: Or in this case, killing you will free me."

Proto-Lynn's hair covered her eyes as a crimson, flaming aura appeared around her. That gave Lynn the indication that she probably angered her.

"Every second you do things by your own will, I'm trapped in a world where I don't belong and have no will of my own. Every second you do anything at all, I'm stuck here being unable to do anything to help myself or anybody else. Every second you live, I await with great desire, the time where I can finally _kill you_ , and break the chain that keeps me grounded in this dreaded void prison I call my home!"

Then Proto-Lynn spotted the football held by Lynn, which made her flash a demented grin as her aura dissipated into nothing. "And if I'm not wrong, Lori brought you here, didn't she?"

"W-Well, she did give me the football and told me how to get here," the jock nervously answered, earning a sadistic smirk from her counterpart. "B-But wait, y-you know Lori?! How do you-"

"Quiet, bitch!" the prototype athlete shouted loudly enough to scare Lynn into compliance. "Listen, all you need to know about me, is that I pretty much will make you regret everything you've done up to this point. 'Cause I'm you, and I've been watching you, very closely, and I've seen you hurt, mock, injure, or do other things to the lord and savior, Lincoln, that disgust me."

" _Wait, Lincoln? There's no way he can be this girl's lord and savior, he's a dork!_ " Lynn thought while her prototype stopped talking and firmly looked at her. She narrowed her eyes and bared her teeth as Lynn continued to think. " _Then again, the girl does claim to be me. So... Do I subconsciously see Lincoln as my lord and savior?_ "

By the time the athlete noticed her counterpart's glare, she flinched and backed away... Until she realized she had nowhere to go. And it's not like Lori would be of any help right now.

"Anyhow, point is, I will make sure you feel guilt, and I will make sure you feel like it's eating at you until there's nothing but a hollow shell left!" Proto-Lynn proclaimed, sending a chill up her counterpart's spine. "And I'll do that by tormenting you in your dreams, in your everyday life, as I constantly remind you of the people you failed and betrayed: Lincoln, Polly Pain, everyone!"

The prototype cracked her knuckles and flashed a smirk.

"But enough talk, have at you!"

Proto-Lynn dashed straight for Lynn, who could only shout "Balls!" before her prototype counterpart tackled her and started to perform various wrestling moves on her: first by attacking her with a dropkick, then suspending her in one arm while repeatedly kicking Lynn's face. She then grabbed Lynn's neck with her arm, then threw her to the ground before slamming her leg down Lynn's back.

Miraculously, despite hurting the athlete bad enough to make her scream in agony, it didn't seem to break her spine. And despite seeing her sister being brutally beaten by her counterpart, which she could blatantly see from her location, Lori didn't seem all that concerned. Or was she?

"Leni, make sure Proto-Luna is freed from her restraint and sent here," Lori told to her phone before glancing at the fight, though beating would be more accurate, and saw Proto-Lynn farting in Lynn's face. "Something tells me my plan might have worked a little bit too well. Lynn's certainly enjoying kicking her own ass."

" _Please tell me that by Lynn, you mean our Lynn and not the one from the original reality_ ," Leni asked, sounding both worried and scared.

The teenager scoffed, "You wish."

"So, how does it feel to be on the receiving end of a dutch oven, you fart factory?!" Proto-Lynn mockingly chuckled as she forced Lynn to smell her butt. "It's not so nice when it's your nose being the one tortured, isn't it?! This is what you get for mocking and hurting the brother, the father, and the holy maker, Lincoln Loud!"

" _What the heck is this brat talking about?!_ " Lynn thought as she tried to stay conscious despite the horrendous smell. And then her counterpart farted again. " _And oh goodness, I thought Lily destroyed my nose months ago, but I was so wrong!_ "

And then Lori flew down and kicked Proto-Lynn far away, giving Lynn the chance to catch her breath... And kick Lori's shin, though the teenager barely reacted. In fact, she didn't even seem to notice the attack.

"Why did you wait until now to help me, you jerk!?" the athlete growled, holding back her tears as she continued. "She beat me up, farted in my face, and you only decide to help me when she forces me to smell her dirty butt?!"

"I guess it really isn't fun when you're on the receiving end of dutch ovens, huh?" Lori scoffed, giving the jock a glare. "Besides, after everything you did, what with making everybody think Lincoln was a jinx, invading his personal space, and allowing him to skip a game he was supposed to play, either you beat yourself up about it, or you never learned your dang lesson. Am I right?"

This not only made Lynn shut up, but also remember the previous times she performed dutch ovens on the house. "Yeah, it's not fun at all," she confessed, scratching the back of her head rather sheepishly. "And yes, I will admit that I needed to be taught a lesson, but still, my counterpart went too far!"

"Just like you did when you refused to believe Lincoln when he told you the truth, or when you lied to me about the chocolate, or when you constantly beat him up on your way to school," the teenager bluntly answered in a harsh tone.

She then shot a cold, menacing glare at the athlete as she was very clear in what she said next, "I have eyes where you couldn't even begin to imagine, Lynn, so if you're willing to argue about your counterpart going too far, then I can show you an endless stream of images of what you did, which justify what she did to you! Are you willing to take the risk?"

Even if she was bluffing, even if Lori were to pull out a ton of lies to help her case, the glare made one thing very clear to Lynn: If she did try to defend herself, Lori wouldn't be merciful. She would stop at nothing to make sure the athlete accepted the fact se was hurt by her own fault. And seeing what Lori was capable of in general, this was one lady she didn't want to face.

So, not wanting more trouble, Lynn crossed her arms and said, "Would you take me out of here already?"

Lori smiled, crouched down to Lynn's height, grabbed the football... Then aimed her "finger gun" and stated "A weak-willed weakling like you has no place in here" before she shot it right at Lynn's forehead, causing her to wake up.

"What was that all about?!" the athlete exclaimed in disbelief.

"What was what all about?"

This made Lynn flinch and take a look at her surroundings, which also lead her to see Lucy, back to wearing her normal gothic outfit, getting prepared to go see Haiku. The room was basically the same as before, but not only were Lori and Leni nowhere to be seen, but the football the jock slept with had also disappeared. Seeing the goth waiting for an answer, the athlete tried to provide a decent explanation:

"I-I fell asleep with a football in my arms, then I wound up in some bizarre dimension, where another version of me, or someone who looked like me at least, was in there! Then she beat the stuffing out of me while Lori just watched, and then she farted in my face before Lori came in, saved me, took the football, and then shot me in the head with he fingers! She somehow used her fingers, as a gun, all just to shoot me!"

With the explanation done, Lucy remained silent long enough to let Lynn catch her breath, then casually asked, "Lynn, how many balls hit you in the head this time?"

Seeing the goth would be of no help, Lynn got off her bed and immediately bolted to Lori and Leni's bedroom... Only to find the duo weren't even there. So she started to look all over the house for the duo, while Lucy bolted out of the house while holding a poetry book.

"Lori, come on out!" Lynn demanded at the top of her lungs. "You have to explain why you said I was a weak-willed weakling, and why you shot me! I mean, I know you simply used your fingers as a gun and no bullets came out, but that only brings up even more questions!"

"So, she shot you too?"

The jock jumped and turned around to see _not_ Lucy, but Luna, who was drinking some tea. "Did you learn how to sneak up on people from Lucy or something?!" Lynn complained, stomping the ground. "Besides, don't you find drinking tea just a bit too British for you? I mean, you already imitate the accent, but drinking tea-"

"I know it's a bit offensive, or at least I think it is, but I need to do something to calm myself down after what happened between me and Lori," the rocker wannabe answered, pinching the bridge of her nose as she took a deep breath. Lynn promptly took a seat next to her, feeling like something was bothering her. "But this isn't about me, go on, tell me what happened between you two."

"No, go on, tell me what Lori did to you," the jock responded, grabbing Luna's shoulder as she gave her a reassuring look. "I'm willing to listen. Specially if it gives me more evidence that Lori needs to be put on restraint. Besides, I'll keep this between us, promise."

Hearing the "promise" part, Luna turned to Lynn and, feeling slightly comfortable with the jock's smile, yet also unnerved at how the usually aggressive athlete was acting, Luna took another deep breath... And returned the smile.

"Okay then, so, I took a joke flower Luan found on the floor, and I went to sleep with it, only to find myself in another... Dimension, or something, with someone who looked like Luan. She paralyzed me, Lori saved me in the nick of time, I handed her the flower, and then she showed me right and blew my mind. Literally. With a finger gun." Luna promptly explained, chuckling to herself as Lynn scratched her chin and thought about it. "Heh, I bet you think I'm probably crazy or something."

"Crazy? That's nothing compared to what happened to me!" Lynn replied, patting Luna's back as she explained herself. "I fell asleep with a football Lori gave me, and I found myself in another dimension with a look-alike of myself in it. Then she said some weird things about chains of reality, attacked me, then farted on my face and forced me to smell her butt afterwards!"

"That does sound rather crazier than what I went through," the rockstar casually said, rolling her eyes as she joked, "And also like something that you'd definitely do to yourself."

Lynn jabbed Luna's shoulder as the pair started to laugh, then exchanged looks before they shook hands. "Thanks for hearing me out, Love," Luna told the jock in gratitude. "Now, since you're looking for Lori, I have a suggestion. I don't know if you're up to it, but if you want, we could double team her."

"Double team her..." the athlete repeated, partially intrigued, partially confused. "I might have an idea of what you're talking about, but just to be safe, tell me what you mean."

"What I'm saying is that we could both work together in order to find out what's up with Lori, and maybe Leni, in our own way," the rocker brushed Lynn's hair as the athlete thought about it, and judging by her smile, she seemed to like the suggestion. "I mean I won't be joining Lincoln's team, and it's safe to assume that you won't join them either, but Lori and Leni are hiding stuff and they've already proven to be dangerous, or at least just Lori, by literally blowing our minds. So, let's team up to find out what's wrong with them!"

"You know what? That sounds like a plan!" Lynn proclaimed, tightening her grip on Luna's hand. "Let's do that! But first-"

"I'm way ahead of you, Love."

Then the rocker wannabe tightened her grip and the duo engaged in a friendly arm wrestling match, with the two being on even grounds... Only for it to son look like Luna was overpowering the athlete.

And as they did that, at the living room the team were hearing Lincoln speak.

"Okay, so this is what we're going to do: Lana, since the wrench was given to your doppelganger, you're going to join Lola and look for this tiara," the boy explained while pointing at a drawing of a particularly extravagant tiara, with the twins nodding in agreement. Then he turned to a drawing of a pair of glasses, "Luan, since Luna made us lose the joke flower, you're going to join Lisa and look for these glasses."

Luan and Lisa exchanged surprised looks, with their doubt regarding Linc's choice being rather evident. "Lincoln, are you sure Luan and I should work together?" Lisa inquired, nervously twiddling her fingers as she added, "I mean, I don't have any problem working with her, but I like to consider myself, and Luan... Is anything but."

"Yeah, you could say we make quite the Odd Couple," Luan added, chuckling at her own joke before asking, "Get it?"

Nobody answered.

" _Note to self: More puns, less potentially clever references,_ " the comedian thought.

"Now that I think about it, what item are you going to look for, Lincoln?" Lana pointed out, catching the boy's attention. "You already told us what to search, but you never told us what you were looking for."

"Oh, well, I guess I could look for... Hmm..." Lincoln searched through the drawings of the items, then stopped at the bat-winged headband. "I guess I could go look for this, what do you guys think?"

"That looks like something that would belong to Lucy," Lola pointed out, with the sisters nodding in agreement. "Speaking of her, just where is she? If she was around here, she would have scared us by now."

"Now that you mention her, I haven't seen her since I gave her that massage," the boy looked around while the sisters raised an eyebrow. "I wonder where she's off to."

 _Speaking of Lucy..._

The goth, clutching her poetry book close to her chest, ran as fast as she could to a table in a restaurant, where her friend-Haiku-enjoyed the average diet of emokind. Which was apparently hamburgers. And then the goth crashed against the table before she slowly made her way to a chair, then sat down in it.

"Sorry for arriving late, Haiku," Lucy told the emo, who took a bite out of her burger before turning to Lucy. "I got caught up last night trying to summon a demon, and then Lincoln gave me an amazing back massage and-"

"Less excuses, more practicing," Haiku stated, taking another bite of her burger. "Open the book on a blank page and think about something to write. Try to make it simple and straight to the point."

Not wanting to anger her master, though it was debatable if that was even possible, Lucy put her poetry book on the table and took out a pen from seemingly nowhere as she opened it. She then tried to think of something to write right before Haiku checked her out and pointed something out:

"By the way, what's up with that headband?"

Lucy touched her hair, took out the mentioned headband, and took a look at it. The headband itself was pure black with bat wings, but Lucy didn't seem to notice these features... "I-I don't know, I didn't put it on while I was getting dressed," Lucy answered, trying to justify herself. "And I've never seen it before either."

"Well, perhaps you can use your surprise at finding this accessory on your head to your poetic advantage?" Haiku suggested, taking the headband and pointing at the poetry book. "So go ahead, write something about it."

The goth took the chance to write something, and after a couple of seconds, she handed the book to the emo, who promptly read it out loud:

 _A simple evening this was going to be,_

 _But something appeared right above me._

 _It was a headband, but with bat wings._

 _Who could've possibly pulled this trick without me knowing?_

With that done, Haiku gave Lucy a neutral look, which after a couple seconds turned into a slightly disappointed one. "Well, it does get something of a point across, I guess," the emo remarked, closing the book and handing it back to the goth. "Do you want to continue practicing, or do you wish to join me for lunch? I did request a burger for you which you haven't even touched yet."

Lucy looked down, then saw a burger on a plate right next to the place she put the book down. "Oh, sorry, I was so worried you were going to get angry over me being late that I didn't even notice," the goth apologized, before taking a bite out of her burger. "Oh hey, this is actually pretty good."

Haiku smiled, then patted Lucy's head as she put the headband to the side and the duo continued to eat. The atmosphere no longer felt like a stern master and a meek student engaging in a lesson, but was more of a pair of genuine friends enjoying their time together.

 _Back at the Loud house..._

Lincoln handed Luan, Lana, Lola and Lisa a pair of walkie-talkies each before he saved his own walkie-talkie on his pocket. "Okay, while you two investigate, use these walkie-talkies to talk to yourselves," Lincoln explained as the sisters listened carefully. "Good luck with your search."

"What will _you_ do, Lincoln?" Lisa inquired, causing everybody to pay him attention.

"I already called somebody to help me look for the things," and then everybody heard someone knock the door. "And it looks like she just arrived!"

The team went to the door, and once the boy opened it, they saw Ronnie Anne-carrying a large backpack-standing outside. Naturally, it wasn't long before Lincoln's sisters begun teasing him.

"Oh, I get it, you're going to go look for the things while you go on a date with Ronnie Anne!" Lola said as the other sisters tried to hold their laughter. Except Lisa, who was unimpressed. "I bet that's totally going to get her to become your girlfriend."

But as the sisters laughed and Lincoln blushed, Ronnie's retort was rather blunt:

"Wow, and here I thought you would focus more on getting the things instead of teasing your brother. No wonder you haven't found or kept any of the items he told me about."

Once they heard her words, the sisters' laughter suddenly halted and just as quickly, Lola tried to justify herself, "Well, truth is, we haven't started looking for them yet-"

"Oh, I wonder why," Ronnie narrowed her eyes and frowned. "Come on, Lincoln, let's get going. The sooner your sisters start paying attention to what really matters, the better."

The boy shrugged and bid farewell before the duo left. And on their way, they shared a fist bump. "Thanks for helping me deal with their teasing," the guy told the tomboy, who patted his back. "But don't you think you were a bit harsh on them?"

The smile promptly turned into a frown. "Lincoln, if the items you spoke to me about are as important as you implied, and I'm assuming they are, then the last thing you'll want anybody to do is get sidetracked with minor things. Now come on, let's get looking!"

Lincoln and Ronnie grabbed hands and ran off to start their search.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Lana and Lola started to search downstairs, while Luan and Lisa searched upstairs. "Hello, Lana, this is Lola speaking," the pageant diva told to her walkie-talkie. "Can you hear me?"

"Oh gosh! I think I just went deaf!" Lana screamed from the other end.

"Oh no, what happened?!"

"I just heard your obnoxious voice!"

Lola frowned as Lana laughed out loud, then turned around to see she was right next to her. Hopefully Luan and Lisa were having an easier time upstairs.

"So, where should we look first?" the comedian inquired as she and the scientist scanned the hallway. "We got quite a couple of rooms to check in the hallway, and there's also the bathroom-"

"Now that you mention that room, I need to verify if my poop studies can resume," the scientist remarked as she adjusted her glasses.

Naturally, seeing her sister even consider continuing such experiments surprised the comedian. "I thought you discontinued that idea a while ago because... Well, it should be obvious why."

The scientist burst out laughing. "Haha, silly Luan, thinking I'd stop such an important investigation! No, I just decided to put it on hold to focus on the royal woodroid 5000. I must make sure my colleagues accept the idea for the sake of the city!"

" _Since when does she care about anything other than her studies?_ " the comedian thought, raising an eyebrow. "Well, how about I check the hallway and you check the bathroom then?"

Lisa silently nodded in agreement, the pair separated and immediately started their investigation: Luan first tried to check Luna and Luan's bedroom, but the atmosphere-which was as aggressive as Lori despite nobody being inside-made the comedian unable to set foot inside.

" _This might be a bit problematic,_ " she pondered, scratching her head.

"Hello, Luan, this is Lisa speaking," the genius told to her walkie-talkie as she entered the bathroom and closed the door. "Do you copy?"

But all she heard was static. And then:

"Lisa?"

The genius turned around, and saw that Leni was sitting on the toilet, with her panties down her knees, and a shocked look on her face. Oh, and her earrings were glowing and vibrating.

"Hi Leni, I didn't knew you were here," the small scientist greeted rather casually, almost as if she's been in this situation before. "Listen, there seems to be a problem with your presence: Apparently, it's affecting my walkie-talkie, so could you please get out of the bathroom until I'm done communicating with Luan?"

The ditz wasn't exactly happy with the suggestion. "Do I look like I can get out right now? Why don't you go out and wait until I'm finished before you check here?"

The scientist gave the idea a thought, and from all angles, Leni's suggestion made quite a lot of sense. Still, this would be wasting the perfect opportunity to check her poop studies, so she asked:

"Would you mind helping me with my poop studies?"

Leni's eyes promptly glowed light blue as she aimed her left index finger at Lisa, shot a small seafoam green ball, somehow levitated her up and then threw her out of the bathroom and onto Luan, causing the duo to crash as Leni used the same magic-nonsense to close the door.

"Oh hi Lisa, I was trying to speak with you," the comedian and scientist got up and dusted themselves. "Was there interference on your end?"

"Listen, Luan, I'd rather leave the explanation out since I don't think you'll believe me, heck, I have a hard time believing it myself," Lisa responded, pausing before she added, "But if there's something I can tell you..."

She turned back to the bathroom and stated, with a serious, and actually slightly concerned tone:

"Something isn't right with Leni."

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

"Wait, so, you two have been hanging out since the Sadie Hawkins dance?" Lucy inquired, sounding legitimately surprised, and with a tone that wasn't deadpan for once. "I thought you were never going to see each other again after that incident!"

"The world's a small place, darling," Haiku responded. "And before you ask how we even became friends, Giggles is very apt at dark humor."

"Speaking of which..." Giggles remarked, catching the goths' attention. "I know it's not your birthday, but I'd like to

The clown revealed a birthday card for Haiku, who happily accepted it despite it not being her birthday. Then she opened it, and inside was an image of the grim reaper wishing her a happy birthday, alongside "I'll see you soon!" written in bold letters.

"Aw, my favorite!" Haiku said, blushing and grabbing her chin while Giggles laughed in delight. "I love it! Thanks, Giggles."


	8. The Investigation Continues

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lynn got her bum rushed by her prototype counterpart, and after everything was said and done, she and Luna joined forces to try and obtain any information about Lori and Leni's plan in their own way. Meanwhile, Team Lincoln separated to look for their respective objects, with the sisters looking in the house while Lincoln left with Ronnie Anne.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Investigation's Poetic Development! Luna and Lynn Find Something Worthwhile?!**

* * *

 _Back at the park..._

Lucy and Haiku enjoyed a nice little stroll across the park while the goth tried to write a poem along the way. Haiku was currently wearing the bat-winged headband, with one hand behind her back, while the other held Lucy's hand, who followed the poet. She didn't want to risk running into any doors, after all.

"Okay, Lucy, you must concentrate on what you want to say," Haiku explained while the goth continued to write her poem. "You have to keep a point in mind: Poetry may just be pretty words strung together, but if you want people to think you're a great poet, you must get a point across."

"Done!" Lucy stated, stopping right on her tracks.

Haiku stopped soon afterwards, grabbed Lucy's poem and read it out loud:

 _My friend has my accessory right now,_

 _But when I see she wears it much better than me, I feel... Odd._

 _What is this I'm feeling?_

 _Jealousy?_

 _Worry?_

 _The last, perhaps._

After reading it, Haiku blushed, gave the goth a look then handed back the piece of paper. "Lucy, darling, I'm flattered, but try to be a bit more upbeat, okay?" the emo told the goth, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Poetry can be deep or sad at times, but not all the time. You also need to learn how to write poetry in the _positive_ sense."

Doubt started to fill Lucy's mind. "But-"

"Listen, Lucy, there are various types of poetry: Sad, inspirational, happy, funny, and so on and so forth. Only when you understand and know how to write all types, can you consider yourself a true poet," Haiku sternly explained, though her tone made it clear she was only strict for Lucy's sake. "So don't limit yourself to just sad stuff, otherwise you'll be stuck looking for inspiration in the vents for the rest of your career."

The goth promptly let out a chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"To think such a gloomy girl like you would be talking about cheerfulness and staying positive," Lucy answered, scratching the back of her head. "It's such a weird... What was that word? Juxtaposition or something?"

"Just because I look gloomy and sad doesn't mean I have to act like it," Haiku responded, giving Lucy a wink before she spotted a party nearby. "And speaking of positivity, there seems to be a party going on. Wanna come with me to cheer you up?"

"Haiku, please, if we're going to a party, it's most definitely going to be a downbeat and restrained emo party," Lucy replied as Haiku grabbed her arm. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I like to see myself as a goth."

Haiku promptly gave the goth an "are you serious?" look, which made her immediately realize her mistake. "Goth party! I meant to say goth! Because that's what you are, and I'd never confuse goths and emos, since I know that upsets you!"

Lucy forced a smile, but sadly, it wasn't enough. "Let's just get going," Haiku responded, pinching the bridge of her nose.

So the duo went to the party and saw it was... A little different than most. It was basically a cheer-up party, with clowns and other people helping someone, that being Maggie, try to cheer up and quit her gloomy behavior. Amongst the gloom and doom, however, was laughter provided by a single clown: Giggles, Luan's friend from clown school, who created a balloon animal for the teenager.

What balloon animal? A vampire bat, of course!

"A vampire bat that doesn't evaporate when exposed to sunlight... Hardcore," Maggie said, her frown turning slightly neutral as she walked to some fellow partygoers. "Who wants to become a vampire?"

Then her phone rang, and once she saw it was a message from Luan saying "I do!" followed by laughter, Maggie deleted the message and looked for a potential candidate for vampirism. At the very least, though, she did seem satisfied, which was enough for the clown girl.

"Another client satisfied... To an extent," Giggles remarked as Haiku and Lucy approached her. The goth cautiously hid behind her friend, while the experienced poet seemed legitimately pleased to see the clown. Heck, she was _smiling_ for crying out loud! "Oh, hi Haiku! Fancy meeting you here!"

"Greetings, Giggles," Haiku greeted, bowing down and slightly lifting her dress. Fancy. "I didn't expect to meet you here today. How have you been?"

"Wait, you're Giggles?" Lucy inquired, earning a nod from the clown. "Luan told me about you, something about you and her being clown school buddies?"

"Yeah, we're classmates in Royal Woods' Local Clown School!" Giggles proudly answered, before offering to shake Lucy's hand. "And I take it you're Lucy, Haiku's friend? I think she mentioned you before. In fact, I think Lucy also mentioned you as being particularly difficult to get a laugh out of. An interesting challenge if you ask me."

"Be careful, whatever she plans to do, it might be a bit of a surprise," Haiku warned, giving the clown a wink as she held her laughter. "So don't be surprised if it winds up being quite _shocking_."

Lucy hesitantly shook hands with the clown, and with absolutely no warning, the goth was electrocuted hard enough to make her hair puff out. Then Giggles revealed the joy buzzer on her palm as she giggled to herself and Lucy fixed her hair. And then she realized something.

"Wait, so, you two have been hanging out since the Sadie Hawkins dance?" Lucy inquired, sounding legitimately surprised, and with a tone that wasn't deadpan for once. "I thought you were never going to see each other again after that incident!"

"The world's a small place, darling," Haiku responded. "And before you ask how we even became friends, just like you, I need to take a break from all the darkness once in a while, and Giggles provides the light I need. Besides, Giggles is very good with dark humor."

"Speaking of which..." Giggles remarked, catching the goths' attention. "I know it's not your birthday, but I'd like to give you something."

The clown revealed a birthday card for Haiku, who happily accepted it despite it not being her birthday. Then she opened it, and inside was an image of the grim reaper wishing her a happy birthday, alongside "I'll see you soon!" written in bold letters.

"Aw, my favorite!" Haiku said, blushing and grabbing her chin while Giggles laughed in delight. "I love it! Thanks, Giggles."

The giggling comedian gave the goth a thumbs up before Maggie returned to her, with the "corpse" of her balloon vampire bat. "One of my friends aimed his flashlight at the balloon animal. For some reason, it blew up," Maggie explained to the clown, right before spotting Lucy and Haiku. She seemed... Interested. "Who are these two, clown girl?"

"Um, my name is Giggles. The girl in the purple dress is Haiku, a girl I meet at the Sadie Hawkins dance," Giggles explained while Haiku bowed down to the goth, and Lucy came out of hiding. "And the girl hiding behind her is her friend. Her name's Lucy, am I right?"

"Yes," the lady-like goth answered, giving the clown a wink. "I'm Lucy, nice to meet you."

Maggie handed the balloon corpse to the entertainer, then completely ignored Haiku and walked straight for Lucy, who took a step back before she hit the ground. The goth shivered as the teenager gave her a neutral look... Then spotted and snatched her poetry book, before she looked at its content. She did this while Haiku and Lucy both tried snatch it back from her.

"So, you write poetry?" Maggie quickly surfed through the book. "Let's see what you have to offer."

"H-Hey! G-G-Give it back!" Lucy and Haiku tried the best they could, but alas, Maggie's hand and foot were just too strong. "Those are still works in progress!"

"These are rather nice," Maggie blurted with honesty, her frown turning into a smile. "You definitely have some poetic potential within you. If you keep it up, who knows, you could wind up becoming one of the best poets I've ever seen. Or just a good poet in general."

And as the teenager handed Lucy her book back, the goth stopped right on her tracks and blushed, partially flattered... And partially confused. And judging from her chuckle and amused smile, Maggie found the sight adorable.

"Yeah, she just needs to learn how to write poetry that isn't sad or depressing and she'll be good to go," Haiku hastily added. Though the ensuing glare from Maggie implied she didn't really approve of the idea. "Anyway, what's up with this party?"

"Mom told me that just because I was a teenager with tons of issues, like parental abandonment, ruined hopes of being a songwriter, and other things I'd rather tell than show, didn't mean I needed to act so moody and depressed all the time," Maggie sternly explained, folding her arms and looking away. "So, since the comedian was busy, and I don't want to risk another horrible performance from her... Sidekick? Companion? Fiance?"

"What?!" Giggles and Haiku exclaimed in shock, while Lucy tried to hold back her laughter.

"I don't know what those words means either, but I think he could be something like that," Maggie added. It was clear from the trio's expressions they hoped that wasn't the case. "Anyway, I didn't want him anywhere near my party, so she hired Giggles over here."

"Who told you my name?" Giggles inquired.

Needless to say, the teenager was surprised. "That's your name?!" then she turned to Haiku. "And what's yours, Haiku?"

"Yes," Haiku bluntly, almost sternly, answered.

Once the shock from the names wore off, Maggie leaned close to Lucy's ear and whispered, "Geez, some parents have weird naming decisions, don't you think? If they don't name their children after concepts or literature, they mix up words to make them sound like a name, am I right?"

" _Tell me about it,_ " Lucy answered.

"Listen, kid, if you want to learn how to write genuine poetry, let me be your mentor," Maggie told Lucy before putting her hand on her shoulder. "I promise you, you'll become quite the popular poet amongst goths and emos under my wing."

"Back off, emo cow!" Haiku hissed, trying to push the teenager away. "Besides, she already chose me as her poetry teacher long before she ever knew you existed, and she's been doing good so far!"

"Oh my, is the little brat getting a little emo-tional?" Maggie sneered.

And of course, Giggles and Lucy tried to calm the duo down. "H-Hey now, this is a cheer-up party, not a _sneer_ -up party," Giggles explained, chuckling nervously at her own joke. The laughter died down when she realized it wasn't working. "So how about we get out of this topic and get back to the party?"

"G-Giggles is right," Lucy stuttered, glancing between Maggie and Haiku. "W-We came here just to see what was going on, we honestly didn't-"

"Say. That. Again," Haiku sternly said, forming a fist. "I dare you."

"Emo-tional!"

Haiku threw a punch and Maggie blocked it, with the ensuing stare fight between the two unnerving the clown and goth. "If you honestly believe you can successfully teach a goth how to be a true poet, how about we see that for ourselves?" Maggie suggested, narrowing her eyes while Haiku clenched her teeth. "I'll teach her my way, you teach her your way, and whoever makes her a poet is the winner!"

"D-Don't I get a say in this?"

The duo calmed down and turned around to see a shivering Lucy standing behind Giggles. "Right, the student chooses the master, after all," Maggie remarked before effortlessly pushing Haiku away. "How about we give you 4 days to think about it? Then, we'll return here to hear your decision."

With that said, Maggie ran her hand through her own hair, then flipped it at Haiku like a whip before she flipped it to the side. She went back to enjoy the rest of her party, while Haiku visibly had a lot of anger building up inside her. With that said and done, Lucy and Giggles went to help Haiku while the poet looked like she was about to explode in rage.

"A-Are you okay, Haiku?" Lucy asked, moving her hand in front of Haiku's face.

"Lucy, we're leaving. Now." Haiku sternly stated before grabbing Lucy's arm. "No ifs, or buts!"

She then dragged the goth out of the party while Giggles nervously waved goodbye. "I hope you enjoyed the party!" the clown shouted, giggling for a while before pinching the bridge of her nose. "Why didn't I establish a price to pay before letting that woman hire me?"

 _Meanwhile, with Lincoln and Ronnie Anne..._

The duo looked around the streets for any sign of the items that they needed to find. However, while they did manage to see many things similar to said objects, they failed to find the actual things.

"So, Lame-O, what items are we looking for?" Ronnie inquired.

"We just need to look for the remaining items, I guess," Lincoln explained. "Lola and Lana are looking for the tiara, and Luan and Lisa are looking for the glasses, and the joke flower and wrench were lost, so besides those we could also look for the basketball or whatever ball it was, a spiked collar, a different pair of glasses, or even the bat-winged headband, which was the thing I suggested we could look for."

"Yeah, but where are we even supposed to start looking for them?"

And a trio of biker girls, as in kindergarten girls, rode past the pair and bid farewell to Lincoln. "Bye, Sweet Feet! We'll continue looking for the items you asked for!" the leader of the girls exclaimed.

"Good job, girls! Keep it up!" the boy answered, waving goodbye.

Ronnie, meanwhile, was flabbergasted. "What just happened?"

"Well, there was one time when I had to borrow Lynn's bike in order to avoid the humiliation of riding a pink trycycle I got as a hand-me-down-"

"And what kind of knucklehead gave you that in the first place!?" the tomboy growled, stomping the ground in disbelief.

"Lori gave it to me," somehow, Ronnie was not impressed. "According to my sisters, they used the bike before me, but by the time they told me about it, it was already too late: Lynn went to her race with the bike Lori gave me, and won it anyway, while everybody else just chided and scolded me for losing the bike to a bike stealer."

Ronnie flinched at the mention of the bike stealer, but she quickly recomposed herself and sternly stated, without any hint of irony, "The more and more I discover about your sisters, specially Lori, the more I want to beat the everloving stuffing out them."

"Yeeaaah, let's not focus on that right now," Lincoln put his hand on Ronnie's shoulder. "Let's just focus on getting the items, alright?"

The tomboy rolled her eyes and the pair continued to walk and look around... Just as two other familiar faces, Polly Pain and Tabby, also took a look around the streets.

"That last jazz session was definitely one of the best we've had in a long while, don't you think, buddy?" Tabby started, her joy and satisfaction very visible in her tone.

However, Polly firmly looked at the ground, looking rather upset. And unfortunately, Tabby knew the reason behind this look.

"Polly, are you still upset about the fact Lynn didn't answer your call?"

Once again, the tomboy didn't answer.

"Listen, I know you probably feel really bad about the fact you're so called "friend" is seemingly ignoring you, but you have to move on from that!" Tabby sternly told the roller skater, who gave her a worried look. "Maybe she was busy with something and thus couldn't answer! Let me tell you, if you call her some other time, I'm sure she'll answer it, but you can't continue acting upset about it, otherwise our performance is going to pay for it! So please, let it go, and let's focus on something else, okay?"

However, instead of answering, Polly turned to look at Lincoln and Ronnie Anne, and made Tabby look at the pair. With them recognizing the duo, the girls immediately went towards them, then completely ignored Ronnie Anne and hugged Lincoln. Needless to say, Ronnie found the sight amusing.

"Lincoln, it's been so long since we last saw you!" Tabby exclaimed as she and Polly slowly separated from the boy. However, while she continued to speak in joy, Polly's smile soon turned into a frown when she aw the boy's surprised, and quite frankly scared, look. "How have you been? Have you recovered from all the things you did at the dance?"

Then Polly asked, "Do you even remember us?"

Seeing the tomboy looked pretty upset, and honestly remember what they did at the dance like it happened yesterday, Lincoln soon put on a smile and hugged Polly Pain. "Yeah, Polly, I remember you." then he gave Tabby a wink. "I also remember you, Tabby, how's the air guitar doing?"

"Meh, I ditched for an air keytar!" Tabby revealed said air keytar and "played" it, much to the confusion of Ronnie Anne. "And I also play the sousaphone at the local poetry club, Polly and I just did a show over there."

And as the trio talked, Ronnie could immediately see Polly was still upset underneath her smile. So, she got an idea, and grabbed Tabby's shoulder.

"So, Tabby, right? It seems your friend could use a little bit of support from Lincoln over here," the duo glanced at the duo, who exchanged looks, blushed and turned away. "So, while Lame-o and Polly are busy talking or whatever, how about you teach me how to handle one of those keytars?"

"Consider it done, girl!" Tabby chirped. "By the end of this lesson, you'll be air playing like an air professional!"

The girls left Lincoln and Polly behind, and the duo got up, dusted themselves and remained silent for a long while, resulting in a long, awkward silence overtaking the atmosphere. But then, Polly spoke:

"Lincoln, I need you to do something for me. Something very important."

The roller skater took out a crumbled piece of paper and handed it to Lincoln. Once he uncrumbled it, he saw it was an invitation to an intervention. It didn't have any time or date for when it would happen, it just had the question "do you wanna do this?" with a "yes" and "no" underneath it.

"I want you to give this invitation to her, and tell her that I need to know if she's willing to talk about our issues. Mine, hers, basically all the issues between our relationship." then Polly handed Lincoln another piece of paper, this time a direction. "Then, when she gives you her answer, go to the direction I just gave you and give it back to me."

However, Lincoln quickly pointed something out. "If this is so important, why don't you do it yourself?"

"I tried: I called her once, and it didn't work. I tried to call her again, and that didn't work either. Heck, I've been calling her ever since the Sadie Hawkins dance, but she's never replied!" the tomboy pinched the bridge of her nose and calmed down. "Quite honestly, I have to put you in the middle of this mess because if there's somebody she's going to listen to no matter what, it's you, Lincoln."

The boy glanced at the pieces of paper, then turned back to see Polly's doubtful look. "Besides, at this point, I'm not even sure if she still cares about me enough, if at all, to consider giving the idea a shot."

Clearly, Polly was putting a great deal of trust in the boy. So of course, he couldn't just reject her plead and tell her to scram.

"Alright, Polly, I understand," Lincoln saved the papers on his pockets and added as Polly's frown turned into a relieved smile. "And even if it takes me through heck and rain, through pain and suffering, I will deliver this invitation, and ultimately help you two fix your relationship!"

Polly jumped up and down in rejoice, then hugged Lincoln, gave him a deep, passionate kiss, then promptly released the stunned boy and rolled to Tabby, who was in the middle of teaching Ronnie how to play the air keytar.

"Alright, let me try again," Ronnie said before attempting to play the instrument.

Despite no sound actually coming out of the "instrument", Tabby still blocked her ears and cringed. "No, you're playing the notes all over the place!" she shouted, causing the tomboy to stop. "Look at my movements and-"

Suddenly, Polly snatched Tabby and rolled away with her, but not before giving Ronnie Anne a wink. "Polly, what's up?! I was in the middle of an air keytar lesson!"

"I'll explain on the way out, Tabby!" the roller skater answered with a wide, feline smile. "For now, we have to celebrate!"

Ronnie got up and watched the girls go away, then returned to Lincoln with a sly smile. "So, I take it you managed to help that roller skater with her issues?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, she was so delighted, in fact, she gave me a kiss. On the mouth." the boy answered rather nonchalantly. "Anyway, I'm not comfortable telling you about something so personal, but it's related to Lynn-"

His attention was caught when he saw Ronnie take out a list and write something down. "What's that list about?"

"The list of girls that have kissed you, or who you have kissed," the tomboy handed the list to the boy. "Give it a look."

However, it wasn't long before Lincoln found something upsetting about the list. "Why are my mother and my sisters part of the list!?"

Ronnie shrugged. "Hey, they probably kissed you in the cheek at least once."

"B-B-But what if people get the wrong idea of a kiss?!"

"Not my problem."

"But Ronnie!"

The tomboy laughed and ran away from Lincoln, which was followed by him giving chase before laughing as well.

 _Back with Luna and Lynn..._

The discount rockstar and jock rested in Luna and Luan's bedroom. Luna was playing a short melody on her guitar, while Lynn walked back and forth, arms folded behind her back.

"Okay, Luna, we have to figure out how to find out more about Lori and Leni's plan without them finding out what we're doing," Lynn stated, right before she noticed she was talking out loud when the duo could potentially hear her, paper-thin walls and all. "Come to think of it, where are they right now?"

"Not in their room, that's for sure," Luna answered, focusing entirely on her guitar. "I saw them leave the house to follow Lola and Lana. And they probably won't be back for a while."

"Then that could be our chance!" the jock stated, getting an idea as a shadowy figure materialized right behind her. "We could go into their room, find something that could give us a clue about their plan, and then get the heck out of there as fast as possible!"

"Just be careful Lynn, after all, you don't want to be an American Idiot," the rocker wannabe scoffed.

"Sorry if I offended you, but you have to admit that your plan isn't that good," Luna replied, stopping her melody and putting her guitar on the ground. "You know that Lori _hates_ it when anybody goes into her and Leni's bedroom. If we make even one mistake, she could wind up kicking our butts, 'cause even I can't fight, fight forever you know?"

"Look, I know it sounds incredibly unlikely, but at least let me explain," Lynn sat next to Luna and put her hand on her shoulder as she explained her plan. This while the figure looked at them and listened. "I'll go inside the room and find clues while you act as lookout and let me know when somebody is coming. How does that sound?"

The musician's deadpan look, alongside the figure's seemingly silent laughter, said it all.

"Oh come on, at least give it a shot!" Lynn whined before clasping her hands together and pulling out the puppy-dog eyes. "I'll be very careful, I promise!"

Unfortunately, even the deadpan look could do nothing against the puppy-dog eyes, and so Luna found herself unable to say no. "Fine, let's try out this plan. But if anything goes wrong, you're the one to blame."

Lynn jumped in excitement and dragged the rockstar to the room. She then gestured her to stay behind while she went inside the dungeon of ultimate death and despair known by mortals as... Lori and Leni's bedroom. Once inside, the atmosphere became immensely heavy, threatening even, as if _the room itself_ was telling Lynn to get out before she regreted it.

Also, there was the smell of cinnamon roll mixed with pretzels. Wonder why.

" _Okay, Lynn, you can do this,_ " the jock thought as she took a couple steps forward. " _Just find a clue, then get the heck out of there. Piece of cake, right?_ "

"Yeah, I don't think so."

The athlete stopped, turned around, and saw the figure from before, who soon revealed themselves to be her prototype counterpart. "Did you miss me, baby girl?" Proto-Lynn mockingly asked with a chuckle. "Did you really think I'd just up and leave you alone after establishing I will torment you for your sins?"

"No, I-I didn't think that at all!" Lynn scratched the back of her head, hoping her counterpart would buy her lie. "I just didn't think you'd appear so soon!"

"You're basically going head first into a massive suicide mission, all just to gather some information that could ultimately be worthless in the long run," the proto-jock answered, before bursting out laughing. "Do you really think I'd give up the chance to mock you as you utterly fail to gather anything?"

"Who says I'm going to fail!?" Lynn promptly turned back and walked closer towards the closet. "Just wait and see!"

However, it didn't take more then 5 steps for Lynn to start feeling like her back was getting heavier. Almost as if somebody, or something, was putting stuff on her back to stop her from continuing. And when she checked her back, she found out the reason for the weight was because her counterpart was on her back.

"Get off me!" the sports junkie demanded.

"Sorry, baby girl, but that's not an option I'd like to consider possible," and then, for some reason, Proto-Lynn became heavier. "Now come on, keep going. If you're so desperate to find new information, then the weight of your sins should be a small prize to pay."

Once she said that, Lynn's counterpart grew so heavy, the athlete was basically forced to the ground, where she had to crawl herself towards her objective. Nevertheless, the jock continued until she reached the closet, opened it and spotted both the gemstones and the closed box almost immediately.

However, the instant she reached for the box, various images flashed in her face: First Lori and Leni screaming in unison, then the world seemingly breaking apart, chains coming straight at her, and the images started flashing faster and faster as Lynn tried to decide what to take. And this wasn't something that her counterpart was doing, in fact, she seemed to be suffering the same images as well.

Eventually, she took the closed box, opened it to see the rings... And then both the images and the pain on her back disappeared. The latter because Lynn's counterpart had basically collapsed at that point. Heh, and she said Lynn was the weakling.

Don't worry though, for the instant Lynn grabbed the red and purple rings, what seemed to be her counterpart appeared as an illusion, then opened her eyes wide before unleashing what seemed to be an invisible eye beam. Which was strong enough to send the jock flying out of the room and crash onto the other room alongside Luna.

"So, did you get anything?" Luna inquired, pushing the jock out of her back. "Or did you just want to leave that room of nightmares in a stylish way?"

"Y-Yes, I did..." Lynn answered before showing Luna the rings, which were now glowing intense colors. "A pair of... glowing rings?"

Luna took a closer look at the rings while Lynn turned to the room... And saw it not only undo the mess she did and close the closet, but also fix the broken door. And as Luna took the jock back to her room, Lynn could only think about one thing:

" _What the heck is up with that room?_ "

 _Meanwhile, at the streets..._

Lola and Lana walked alongside each other as they looked around for clues as to where the items they were looking for could be. Their search through the kitchen, living room, and basically the whole lower level of the house had ended in failure, with neither the wrench nor the tiara being found. It was like the treasure hunt all over again!

"Lana, remind me what we're looking for," the pageant diva requested, putting her hands on her hips. "I mean, since it's my counterpart's item, I should know what it is, but I just want to make sure I'm not getting the wrong picture."

"A tiara that looks like it would belong to a member of royalty," the plumber tomboy answered, briefly glancing at the bushes and trees nearby. Somehow, she felt that the twins were being watched "And we should make sure we find it as soon as possible, I can't help but get the feeling somebody's following us."

"Oh, it has to be one of my fans!" Lola chirped in delight, clasping her hands before she dusted herself. And of course, she just had to boast next, "I don't know if you ever heard about it, my dear twin, but my constant pageant wins have earned me quite the popularity. I'm basically a small time celebrity in Royal Woods!"

"I think you're popular for another reason," Lana scoffed right before she slapped Lola's butt. "Princess!" then she added, "Besides, you're infamous more than anything, what with all the sabotages, and the lies, and most importantly, those little favors you did to the judges of your last pageant-!"

"I only had to cut their backyard's grass, and I only did it once!" the diva growled defensively.

"Does that even matter?" Lana crossed her arms and smirked. "Point is, if somebody's following us, it's most likely the pageant girls you humiliated wanting some revenge for making them lose."

Instead of immediately blowing up on her twin, Lola remained calm and gave her sister a stern look. She didn't want to look bad in front of her fans, after all. Although, the vein about to pop in her head made it obvious she wasn't happy. In fact, she was embarrassed.

"Seriously? You wanna fight right here? Right now? Right in front of my fans?" the discount princess inquired, grabbing Lana by her suspenders and pulling her until they were face-to-face. "I mean, it's our special little thing! Do you really want to do something so personal right in front of the public!?"

Then, with a smug smile, Lana gave her sister a simple answer:

"If the booty fits the dress."

Unable to hold her anger, Lola pushed Lana to the ground and leaped straight for her, causing them both to envelop inside a big ball of violence as their fight raged on. And as that happened, Lori and Leni watched from the shadows... More specifically, Leni was watching them, Lori rubbed her forehead almost as if she was having a headache. Which, given what was going on and what she had to deal with, was quite likely.

"Geez, you'd expect that after, like, dozens of fights back at home, that they would learn how to resolve their problems without beating the stuffing out of each other," Leni quipped, only to notice Lori's condition. "What's wrong, Lori?"

"I can't help but feel we shouldn't be wasting our time with these two," the phone-a-holic answered, narrowing her eyes as Leni put a hand on her shoulder. "I feel like somebody just went into my room and did something that could derail the plan. Granted, it would only derail it in the short-term, but still-"

"If Lola and Lana find out where they can get the tiara, that's just as likely to derail the plan as well," Leni pointed out. Luckily, though, she soon got a plan. "Although, It's not like you can't go check up what's going on back at home while I watch Lola and Lana. It's my duty to watch over the youngest sisters, after all."

"That doesn't really change the fact that you're pretty dimwitted, and those two can be a big mess to deal with," Lori argued, and after looking offended for a bit, Leni promptly-though hesitantly-nodded in agreement. "But anyhow, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Don't fail me, sis."

Leni gave Lori a reassuring smile and bid farewell as the teenager slowly floated up, then flew back home as fast as she could while Leni went back to look at the twins. She followed them as their ball of violence rolled deeper into the streets, bouncing various signposts like they were a pinball or something, up until they crashed into an auditorium wall.

"Ugh, I figured you would be able to control our battle ball just fine, Lola!" Lana snarled, jumping off her twin sister's back. "I mean, you started it after all!"

"Well, excuse me for lacking the ability to drive something that doesn't even have a steering wheel!" Lola complained, right before she turned to see where they crashed and spotted something that made her eyes widen in delight. "Wait, look at that!"

Lana turned to see Lola pointing at a poster for an upcoming beauty pageant. Granted, it wasn't all that surprising, Lola was Lola after all, but seeing as they had a job to do, it wasn't time to get sidetracked by stupid things. That was Leni's job, of course!

"For goodness's sake, Lola, would you please stop thinking about pageants for one second and focus on finding the tiara?!" the mud lover scolded as she helped her sister get up.

Lola promptly pulled Lana closer to her and pointed at the poster once more as she growled, "Look closer, dummy."

On the poster itself, the 1st place prize was a tiara that looked exactly the same as the one they were looking for. Which was admittedly rather suspicious: What were the chances they would find the tiara in a poster for a pageant after crashing through an auditorium in a big ball of violence?

"That looks exactly like the one we're looking for! Once I manage to win the pageant, 'cause that's obviously going to happen, we can discover if the tiara is the right one or not!" Lola explained while Lana could only blink and take a closer look, feeling cautious about the poster. "I know it sounds like a stretch, but it's the best shot we got."

But it wasn't long before Lana pointed something out. "But it says here that the pageant starts past tomorrow, and you generally need to practice for several days for an average pageant! How are you going to get ready for this pageant in just two days, specially taking into account how important it is for you to win?"

The diva scratched her chin as she thought about how to get out of this little predicament. And of course, the first person she thought about was-

"Lincoln!"

So Lola-dragging Lana with her-ran back home as fast as she could just as Leni came out of hiding and checked the poster. Somehow, just from seeing the tiara, she could tell it belonged to Proto-Lola.

" _Oh dang it, this is the tiara they're looking for!_ " the fashionista thought in disbelief. She clasped her hands and closed her eyes. " _Other me, if you can hear me, Proto-Lola's tiara is being given as a prize for a pageant. What should I do?_ "

While the teenager got no response at first, it wasn't long before her counterpart spoke to her. And given her tone, she wasn't exactly happy.

" _What did you do now?_ "

" _N-Nothing!_ " Leni mentally replied, twiddling her index fingers as she added, " _W-Well, it's something related to the younger sisters. You see, Other Lola's tiara is being used as the 1st place prize for a pageant, and I need you to tell me what to do. Should I steal it or something?_ "

" _No, I actually spoke with Lola about this, and we have a plan. Listen up, not only must you let your Lola enter the pageant, but you must guide Lana to the manhole where... "She" is working at, and do whatever you can to convince her to join "her", understood?_ "

" _Well, yeah but-_ "

" _Good, now get moving._ "

Proto-Leni stopped speaking and Leni returned to reality soon afterwards. With the new plan in mind, Leni took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried to think of something to do. However, just at this moment, Leni spotted something peculiar: Lola would probably be able to tell something was wrong about the pageant right away.

She needed an experienced pageant goer, and a decent actor. But unfortunately, she could only think on one, particularly unfortunate girl. So she walked to the deepest part of the auditorium, and opened a door, wherein two eyes suddenly opened.

"Lindsey Sweetwater?" Leni asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who are you, how do you know my name, and what do you want?" the girl growled, narrowing her eyes.

"Seeing as you and Lola share the same temperament, I'm going to be brief: I'm Leni Loud, Lola's older sister, one of them anyway, Lola mentioned you as she, what a surprise, won a pageant that you participated in. And I have a job for you."

Lindsey was, simply put, harsh in her response. "Well, scram, if it's not related to beauty pageants, I don't care!"

But her attention was caught with Leni's own answer. "The job has to do with a beauty pageant. A beauty pageant that Lola might not be able to win."

"... I'm listening."

"Here's the deal: The pageant is rigged so that no matter what happens, Lola will lose," the teenager offered Lindsey her hand. "I want you to give her some motivation to become... Competitive, 'cause if she becomes competitive, her inevitable defeat will be... How do I say this?"

"More satisfying?" Lindsey suggested.

Leni felt there was a different word she could use, but decided to roll with that. "Yeah, satisfying. So, what do you say?"

After thinking about it for a moment, Lindsey shook hands with Leni, revealing her whole arm was now completely bandaged.

"It's a deal."

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

The duo practiced at the backyard, where Lincoln watched Lola carefully as she tried to balance rolling a pair of basketballs using only her index fingers while standing on one foot. "Okay, Lola, you're doing alright," the boy told the diva, who too busy to pay him attention. "Next after this should be-"

Suddenly, the ground shook suddenly and violently, causing Lola to unbalance and ruin her act, while Lincoln barely managed to keep himself stable. "What's going on?!" Lola asked, clinging to the ground.

And just as suddenly, the ground stopped shaking just as Lana arrived. "Lincoln! Lola! I have to show you something!" the mud lover exclaimed as she ran to the pair. Mostly Lincoln.


	9. Loud-o Oh-no

**Before we begin, I'd like to thank everybody for the favorites and follows this story has gotten. Yeah, it's only 18 and 19 respectively, definitely nothing amazing compared to some other stories, but I still appreciate them.**

 **And I hope you get to enjoy the ride that is this story because I said it in the beginning, but just in case I didn't: This story is going to be LONG, definitely longer than The Loud Sim Date, and that was a long story on its own. Hopefully it won't be nearly as messed up.**

 **Anyway, one more thing: Last chapter was the last chapter of the "Introduction" arc. Starting from this chapter, we begin the "Proto-Twins" arc and the "Gate of Childhood" saga. Just what, or who, is this gate of childhood? That'll be revealed later. Much later.**

 **Anyhow, let me shut up and let you enjoy the fic! And remember to read and review!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality,**

 **Lucy and Haiku went to Maggie's "cheer-up" party, but friction between the emo and goth rose until it blew up into forcing Lucy to choose, 4 days from now, her poetry teacher.**

 **"How about we give you 4 days to think about it? Then, we'll return here to hear your decision."**

 **Meanwhile, Lincoln and Ronnie managed to help Polly Pain and Tabby with the former's pain, mostly Lincoln, who promised to deliver an invitation to an intervention by Polly, who left in joy after the deal was done. While this went on, Luna and Lynn begun their plan:**

 **"We could go into their room, find something that could give us a clue about their plan, and then get the heck out of there as fast as possible!"**

 **And after much problems, they obtained a pair of rings. But most importantly, at the streets, the twins found one of the tiara, as being the prize for a beauty pageant, so obviously Lola ran back home to convince Lincoln to help her, with Lana following behind. However, behind their backs, Leni found a powerful ally in Lindsey Sweetwater with a proposition:**

 **"Here's the deal: The pageant is rigged so that no matter what happens, Lola will lose. I want you to give her some motivation to become... Competitive, 'cause if she becomes competitive, her inevitable defeat will be... How do I say this?"**

 **One handshake later, the deal was sealed.**

 **What will happen next? Will Luna and Lynn regret ever taking the rings? Will Leni's deal with Lindsey Sweetwater actually lead somewhere? Find out one of those things right now, in Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Help Me Prepare for the Beauty Pageant, Lincoln! Lori Finds Out Luna and Lynn's Actions!**

* * *

Back at the streets, Lincoln and Ronnie sat down at a table outside a restaurant, where they took a sip of their drinks. Polly Pain and Tabby were also on a table close to them, but they didn't really seem to notice them.

"So, again, thanks for coming with me and help me look for the object, I appreciate it," Lincoln said, her tone filled with genuine gratitude.

"Hey, It's okay, as long as I get something out of this trip," Ronnie took another sip of her drink... Then asked, "Lincoln, can I ask you something?"

"If you're worried about you and I getting married in the future, don't worry, I'm pretty sure Lori and Bobby will beat us to the punchline before that happens," the boy hastily answered.

Ronnie promptly quipped, "Yeah, and then their sweetness grows so big, it gives them sugar rush."

As Ronnie and Lincoln laughed at the tomboy's joke, Polly and Tabby heard their laughter and turned around to see them having a good time. However, instead of going ahead and greeting them, they remained on their table and listened to their conversation.

"But seriously speaking, I want to know if you'd be willing to hang out with me more often," Ronnie explained. "Before you ask why I'm asking you this, the egg incident made me realize something: We haven't really hung out since the Sadie Hawkins dance, and thanks to that, we don't know much about the other, which caused your paranoia."

"That, and the fact you're kind of a bully," Lincoln added.

This made Polly and Tabby narrow their eyes and glare at the tomboy. "Yeah, but I haven't bullied you in a long while. I've bullied other people for sure, but not you, and that's what matters most, right?"

The statement only aggravated Tabby, Polly, and Even Lincoln, further. "I'll just get to the point: For the sake of our friendship, or whatever it is we have, I want to fix how little we know about each other by hanging out and learning more about us as we go. I don't want our relationship to burn and crash just because we put no effort into knowing each other."

Upon hearing that, Polly flinched and looked at the ground with a somber look, while Tabby comforted her. "Specially considering how our siblings will break up with the other if something bad happens to us," the tomboy added before offering a handshake to Lincoln. "So, what do you say?"

Lincoln eyed the hand, then Ronnie's sincere smile, and he returned the smile before he shook hands with her. "Let's give it a shot," he stated before he got off the chair. "And now, I need to go back home. We can continue looking for the objects tomorrow, as long as something doesn't happen."

"Got it."

With that said, Lincoln promptly walked back home, and bid farewell to Polly and Tabby in the process. Once he was out of sight, Tabby and Polly exchanged nods and approached Ronnie Anne, who immediately noticed them.

"Hey, we heard what Lincoln and you were talking about," Polly bluntly stated, folding her arms. "the fact you're a bully makes me a little bit cautious about you, but I can relate to your desire to hang out with Lincoln more so your relationship doesn't crash and burn."

And of course, Ronnie just had to ask the obvious question: "Why would you relate to that?"

"Well, Lincoln's sister, Lynn... We're supposed to be friends, but ever since the Sadie Hawkins dance, we haven't spoke with each other," Polly somberly explained, while Tabby put a hand in her shoulder and she twiddled her fingers. "I tried calling her, but she always hangs up on me, and she never calls me back."

"How long has that been happening?" the Hispanic tomboy inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Polly winced, looked away and blushed while Tabby explained, "It's... Something very personal for Polly, so she'd rather not discuss this in public."

"Alright then, I know what to do," Ronnie took out her phone, and called her brother. "Hey Bobby, do you mind if I bring a couple friends home? I need to speak with them, and they'd rather do it in private."

After a couple seconds in silence, Bobby answered, "I'm not sure how that works, but sure, be my guest."

"Thanks."

Ronnie hung up, and gestured a confused Polly and Tabby to follow her. "Wait, you actually want to talk about my problem?" Tabby asked, while Polly's frown slowly turned into a smile. "I thought you'd just say something like "well, that sounds problematic" or "Lincoln will surely help you" and leave us to deal with it."

The Hispanic tomboy flashed a smile as she explained herself, "Listen, the fact that we're in very similar situations, that we want to try and hang out more with a member of the Loud family, makes me very interested, specially because it seems like you need some help with Lynn."

Polly's smile gained a hint of gratitude, followed by Tabby getting a smile as well.

"Besides, why should Lincoln be the only one helping you? I can help too!" Ronnie gestured once more. "So come on, follow me, and I'll take you to my house."

Polly and Tabby nodded, and the duo followed Ronnie Anne, who ran back to her house as fast as she could.

 _Meanwhile, back at the auditorium..._

Leni put some make up on the pageant diva known as Lindsey Sweetwater, and in the middle of doing this, she decided to engage in some chit chat with her. "Okay, is the plan clear, Lindsey?"

"We already discussed it, like, a dozen times before!" Lindsey complained, flinching once she realized she used Leni's "like" tic. "I wait until you give me the signal, which is when Lola will be growing over-competitive for the pageant during her training. Then I pop up, tell her I'm going to be part of the pageant and say that I practiced for it for days, then taunt her some more before I leave."

"Good, behind all that sass and childishness, there's someone who knows how to, like, follow orders," the fashionista turned to a picture of Lola, struck with some darts, and glared at it. "Which is more than I can say for Lola."

"As long as you basically say or otherwise imply I'm better than Lola at something, I don't care what other things you say." then, Lindsay said, "But I have to ask, why do I need to wait until that specific time to strike?"

"Because that's when Lola is at her most emotionally vulnerable," the fashionista brushed Lindsey's hair as she continued, her tone growing bitter and stern. "She is a sore winner and loser, she'll do anything to win against anybody, specially in this case. So, knowing you'll participate there, with "days of preparation" beforehand, will make her grow even more desperate to win at all costs."

"Ergo, she'll try to hard, she'll make it more likely for her to lose!" Lindsey finished, flashing a smirk. "You know, for being one of her dumber sisters, you really have a knack for knowing her weak spots."

"Yeah, I... Wait, what did she say about me?" Leni sounded worried.

"That you're dimwitted, pretty naive, but make some pretty dang good dresses for her to use in these pageants, whenever she doesn't outright buy them from professionals," Lindsey answered, her smirk growing wider as Leni noticed some darts nearby and grabbed one. "I might be getting a bit too personal here, but I don't think she has a good opinion of you."

Leni narrowed her eyes, aimed the dart at the picture of Lola, then threw it as hard as she could. The dart, however, didn't even hit the picture, but instead hit the the spot where one of her arms would be.

Her left arm, to be exact.

And outside the door, the three biker girls Lincoln and Ronnie encountered before stood outside, with their leader explicitly hearing everything using an empty glass. "I still don't understand how that's supposed to work," one of the girls said, just as the leader separated from the door and hid the glass cup... Somewhere. "So, what did you find out?"

The leader smiled. "Girls, I think I know how we can help Sweet Feet get the tiara."

 _Sometime later, back at the Loud house..._

Luna and Lynn sat on the ground, looking at the glowing rings as they tried to calm down. "Okay, whatever happens next, we need to find out more about Lori and Leni's plan," Luna remarked as a shadow loomed over the duo. "Are you ready, Lynn?"

However, the jock didn't respond, and once Luna turned to her, she saw why: Lynn was shivering, looking at something with complete terror, almost as if she was about to wet herself. "What's wrong?"

Lynn pointed to behind Luna, and once the rockstar turned around and saw a flying, furious Lori staring at them outside the window, she couldn't help but join in Lynn's terror.

Meanwhile, downstairs, the twins had finally gotten home and they separated; Lana went to check up on Luna and Luan's bedroom, which was shaking rather violently, while Lola went straight to Lincoln's bedroom and kicked the door down.

Rest in peace, Lincoln's bedroom door.

"Oh, Lincoln!" Lola exclaimed, right before she barged into Lincoln's room and gave him the pointer finger. "Listen up, Lana and I found the tiara, but it's the 1st place prize in a pageant! And you know what that means!"

Lincoln, who was just chilling out and reading comics, took a deep breath and replied, "You want me to train you to win it?"

"You know me so well!" the diva answered with joy. "Now, the pageant seems to be a normal one, but I need to be trained in all the potential categories!"

Lola struck a pose while surrounded by flowers.

"Beauty!"

Then she struck another pose, while balancing two rolling basketballs with her index fingers.

"Concentration!"

She struck another pose, but with the basketballs under her dress' chest area to give the impression of breasts. Combined with the jiggling, Lincoln couldn't tell if he was supposed to take his sister seriously at this point or not.

"Talent!"

Then the little diva threw the ball away and met Lincoln face-to-face, her pupils being set on fire as she finished with a tone implying determined fury. Now the boy knew he had to take her seriously.

"And many other things we got to train for, got it?! Because if we want to get that tiara, I must become the supreme winner of that pageant, and you'll help me do that! Have I been clear, Lincoln!?"

"But-"

"Have I been clear!?"

"R-Right!" Lincoln answered, terrified at Lola's rising voice.

Lola freed her brother and gave him a wink, "Then let's get to it!"

 _Back with Lana..._

The mud lover went into the room and became paralyzed in fear once she saw what was happening: Lori held a greatly bruised Lynn, and a slightly bruised but defiant Luna, by the neck of their clothes while the rings remained on the ground. The young adult's eyes had gained seafoam green sclera, and she had seafoam green tear tracks and going down her arms.

"I'm going to ask one more time, and you better answer me honestly before I literally decide to pummel the answer out of you!" Lori hissed towards the duo, though mostly against Luna, who narrowed her eyes as she tried to free herself from her grasp. "What were you going to do with those rings?! Don't you know that not only will you immediately regret putting those things on, but that jewelry doesn't work literally well with tomboys?!"

"Screw your fashion opinion!" Luna spat, kneeing Lori in the stomach. "You're doing something, and regardless of what you do to us, everybody will find out sooner or later!"

The teenager released the pair and clutched her stomach as Lynn grabbed the rings and left the room with Lana, and Luna got ready to fight her. Seeing she had the chance to settle the score with the rocker, Lori flashed a smirk and tackled Luna, sending both of them crashing through the window.

"Lynn, what's going on?!" Lana asked in a panic as the jock helped her get up. "Why was Lori holding you two? Why did she look so weird? What's up with those rings?!"

"She saw us with these rings and got angry, I don't know what happened to her body, and I believe these rings could hide some important information," Lynn hastily explained as she showed the glowing rings to Lana. Given her shivering and frowning, she seemed afraid of the things. "I could only take the red and purple one before I felt overwhelmed, but I get the feeling that's enough for now."

"What were you planning to do with it?" Lana asked as Lynn put on the red ring.

"Wear them, then see what happened next," the jock answered, looking a bit disappointed when nothing happened. For a glowing, potentially supernatural ring, something should have happened... "I know it sounds risky, but we didn't really have any other choice. We need to find out what Lori and Leni are planning-"

"Lynn, please, leave finding that out for another day!" the mud lover pleaded, clasping her hands as Lynn took a step back in shock. "Lori and Leni, mostly Lori, aren't people we can annoy and get away with! She just showed us, and as far as we know, she's probably beating the ever loving heck out of Luna right now!"

With that in mind, Lynn blinked twice, then handed the purple ring to Lana before heading to the battle and jumping out the broken wall. "Keep that thing safe!" she shouted as she jumped, and bid farewell, leaving behind Lana to contemplate the ring.

And almost as if on cue, Lynn's prototype counterpart appeared beside her... As a painting on the walls, running alongside her. "So, you finally put on the ring, huh?" she asked with a mocking tone.

Naturally, Lynn wasn't going to take her counterpart's garbage again. "Go away, other me! I'm not in the mood to deal with your nonsense!"

"I'm just here to warn you that what you could end up seeing from the ring could be... Perturbing."

"I don't care! We're going to find out what's up with Lori and Leni's plan and there's nothing you can do about it!"

The prototype just laughed at the statement. "Fine then, but don't say I didn't warn you."

Proto Lynn vanished from existence, and Lynn ignored what just happened and continued to run away.

 _Back with Lola and Lincoln..._

The duo practiced at the backyard, where Lincoln watched Lola carefully as she tried to balance rolling a pair of basketballs using only her index fingers while standing on one foot. Her slight leaning between left and right clearly showcased she was having trouble doing all of that, however.

"Okay, Lola, you're doing alright," the boy told the diva, who was too busy to pay him attention. "Next after this should be-"

Suddenly, the ground shook suddenly and violently, causing Lola to unbalance and ruin her act, while Lincoln barely managed to keep himself stable. "What's going on?!" Lola asked, clinging to the ground.

And just as suddenly, the ground stopped shaking as Lana arrived. "Lincoln! Lola! I have to show you something!" the mud lover exclaimed as she ran to the pair. Mostly Lincoln.

"What is it, Lana?" the boy asked, completely dropping any and all attention on the pageant princess to focus on the tomboy. "What do you need?"

Naturally, this got on Lola's nerves. "Um, hello? We're kind of in the middle of something here!" she shouted. "You need to train me so I can take the tiara back home as a trophy!"

"Shut up, Lola, I'll deal with you in a moment," Lincoln sternly told the discount princess. "Now what were you saying, Lana?"

"Well, I got this ring from Lynn," the mud lover showed the purple ring to Lincoln. "I know this isn't a bright question, but do you know something about it?"

"I'm afraid not, I've never seen this ring before," Lincoln answered as he grabbed and took a closer look at the ring. Then, when he put it on, his eyes flashed white as he fell unconscious.

"Lincoln!" the twins exclaimed in unison.

 _Inside Lincoln's mind..._

The boy woke up in a black, empty void that extended went on for miles, that is, until a purple light appeared right in front of him and slowly expanded into a circular window, which then projected.

"Well, this is quite the movie theater," Lincoln thought, trying to keep calm.

And then his "keep calm and watch on" demeanor was completely thrown out of the window when the projection actually started. It showed the Luna look alike, alongside a bunch of look alikes of his sisters _except_ Lori and Leni, bruised and beaten on some cracked ground. Looming above them were winged shadows that Lincoln couldn't help but find... Oddly familiar.

However, just as he questioned whatever the heck was going on, Not-Luna got up and caught her breath as she clutched her left arm. Then, when she finally got enough energy to stabilize herself, she spoke:

"Do you really think you'll get away with this?"

Then, she looked up and gave a look of both defiance and fury.

"Do you really think we'll let you take it all away!?"

Suddenly, purple electricity started orbiting her body as her left fist was filled with dark purple energy, encasing it in an energy sphere.

"You may have taken our home... Our lives... Our friends..."

Then, a large, purple aura surrounded her right before she leaped towards whoever was looking at her, and shouted the next as she aimed her electrified punch at the watcher.

"But we won't let you take him away from us!"

Luckily, though, the image quickly changed soon afterwards... To show Lincoln getting married to a Luna, though the boy's blurry view, and desire to not watch any further, made it difficult for him to tell which Luna he was marrying.

"Eugh! Okay, I'd really appreciate it if I returned to the real world now!"

 _Wish granted..._

Lincoln suddenly woke up to see Lola and Lana shaking him in an attempt to wake him up. He soon got up and grabbed his head while the twins backed away, then checked up on him. "Lincoln, are you okay?!" Lola asked, clasping her hands.

"Yeah, I guess I am," the boy replied, scratching his head as he handed the ring back to the tomboy. "I don't know what exactly happened, but when I put that thing, I found myself in a black void, with a screen showing someone who looked like Luna about to attack someone else. And then, it just... Ended-"

"Well, that's a very interesting story, Lincoln," Lola remarked, clearly not giving a single flying feather about it. "But we have something to do, so please drink some water or whatever and get better quick so we can continue with-"

"Are you serious?"

Lincoln and Lola turned around to see Lana giving her twin sister a look of disapproval. However, while Lincoln was worried about what would come next, Lola was simple annoyed. "What's the problem now, Lana?"

"Our brother just fell unconscious and saw some weird things, and the only thing you care about is practicing for a stupid pageant!?" the tomboy scolded, putting her hands on her hips as she walked to the diva and gave her a stern look. "Lincoln needs to rest, not "get better quick" to continue your practice! I mean, the pageant won't be today or tomorrow, so why give the training such a big priority?!"

And then the twins engaged in a ball of violence that bounced up and down and out of the backyard as Lincoln could only wonder what the heck just happened. Suddenly, Lucy arrived and caught Lincoln's attention.

"Oh hi, Lucy," he greeted, sounding notably exhausted.

"Hey, Lincoln, can I-" the goth nervously requested.

Suddenly, Lola ran in and smacked Lucy with her booty, sending her flying to the fence, which somehow leaned until it bounced her right back to Lincoln's side. The diva was notably bruised, though it was nothing major.

"Move out of the way, Lucy, I had him first!" the diva complained, giving her gothic sister a glare. "I need to train for an upcoming pageant for the sake of foiling whatever plan Lori and Leni are doing, and I won't let you put my training on hold!"

"Lola, remember that the judges will judge how polite you can act, so you better learn how to behave!" Lincoln sternly scolded, making the discount princess shut up and leave as he helped the goth get up. "Sorry about that, Lucy, what were you saying?"

"Actually, I just remembered that I still got some days before the thing I need help with is over, so I think we can talk later," the poet answered, forcing a reassuring smile. "That, and I'm kinda scared of what Lola could do if I angered her any further."

Lincoln, however, could instantly tell Lucy desperately needed help. "Good luck with your pageant training, Lola."

The diva blew a raspberry at the goth's direction, then went back to her pageant practice. "And good luck to you too, Lincoln," Lucy added with her characteristic deadpan tone. "You'll really need it."

But just before the goth could leave, Lincoln grabbed her arm and held her as the goth felt an emotion she never thought she'd feel: deadpan fear. " _Oh no, being lightly held by the arm, a girl's only weakness!_ " she thought, right before she asked, shivering all the way, "L-Lincoln, c-c-can you let me go?"

"Actually, before I do that, I want to recommend you somebody who can help you with your problem," the boy answered, giving his sister a reassuring smile. "Granted, I don't know what kind of problem it is, but I'm sure he can be of help regardless."

The goth turned around and nervously said, "I'm listening."

 _Meanwhile, at the streets..._

Lana walked at the sidewalks, still upset over her fight with Lola. She was visibly bruised from the fight, having a black eye and some blood coming out of her nose. In fact, she looked like she would actually cry any moment now.

But what bothered her the most was Lola's attitude! After all, her brother got into a coma and all she could think about was practicing for the pageant past tomorrow? I mean, it's totally something she would do, but come on!

"Curse that Lola and her ego!" Lana whined, kicking a couple of cans into the street, upon which they hit a cat. "Who does she think she is?! Just because she's won over a dozen pageants before doesn't mean she can treat me like dirt! Come to think of it, she can't treat Lincoln like that either!"

Right close to the sidewalk was a manhole, whose holes flickered an intense blue at random. Though it seemed to speed up, and grew even more intense, the closer Lana approached it.

"I mean, he's her coach for crying out loud!" the mud lover continued, walking back and forth as she failed to see the commotion. "It's thanks to him that she's always prepared for each and every pageant, and yet she thinks him getting! Seriously, I just wish there was a way to make her a lot less... Lola-like!"

Suddenly, the manhole exploded right next to Lana, with the tomboy just barely dodging the incoming manhole. "What the heck?!"

And as a poor cat was struck by the manhole, Lana noticed the glowing entrance to the sewers... And slowly backed away. While in any other situation she would be stupid enough to actually go and investigate, this time, she simply felt like it wasn't such a good idea. Maybe it was the fact that she could hear animalistic noises coming from the entrance. Maybe it was the fact that there was the chance she wouldn't come back from that investigation.

Or maybe it was this weird thing called "common sense" getting through her thick skull.

Whatever the reason, Lana ran back home as fast as she could just as a cloaked figure climb out of the entrance, and silently watch her leave before saying:

"See you at the day of the pageant..."

Then, their eyes glowed dark blue.

"Hayyel..."

 _Back at Lynn and Lucy's bedroom..._

Lucy, with some helpful advice from Lincoln, took the phone of her room and dialed a number he handed her. And while at first, nothing came out of the phone outside of static, the call was soon answered.

"Hello?" Clyde greeted from the other end.

The goth flinched and clutched her chest. She would be a bit less surprised if Lincoln had just told her she was going to be calling Clyde in the first place, but hey, desperate times need desperate measures.

"H-Hi Clyde," Lucy answered, trying to hide her surprise under her deadpan tone. "Lincoln told me that I could speak with you, since I need help with something, and he's busy with Lola at the moment. So, he suggested me to call a friend, that being you, and ask for your help instead."

"Huh, it's probably another pageant practice," the boy guessed before adding, "So, what is it that you need help with, Lucy? I don't think I'll be of use, so hearing you out is the least I can do."

"Well, I tried to learn poetry with the help of my friend, Haiku," Lucy hesitantly explained, blushing as she continued. "Lincoln told me you met her, is that right?"

"Yeah, during the whole Sadie Hawkins dance, I helped Lincoln deal with the dates you, Lynn, Luan and Luna got him into, and I wound up dancing with her," Clyde answered, with a slight hint of nostalgia in his tone. "Is something wrong with her?"

"I was about to train my poetry with her when we went to a party, where we not only met Giggles, but also caused the problem I need help with," the goth paused and thought about it. Did she really want to drag poor Clyde into this mess? Then again, Lincoln was busy, and she had nobody else to turn to... "You see, we met this girl named Maggie, and she liked my poetry. The dark, brooding one."

Then Clyde asked:

"Uh huh, and what's the issue?"

Lucy hesitated: Having Clyde hear her out was one thing, but telling him the whole story would be another. Specially if the boy himself had doubts about his ability to help the gothic girl. But nevertheless, she took a deep breath and explained:

"She didn't seem to appreciate Haiku trying to teach me to be more versatile in my writing, so she decided to become my master, and after a little brawl, she and Haiku gave me 4 or so days to decide which master I should pick. The thing is, I simply can't pick one: If I pick Maggie, Haiku will be left angry, but if I pick Haiku, I don't know what Maggie could be capable of, but it can't be anything good."

Clyde's response was stern, yet understanding. "So let me guess, you want me to talk with Haiku to try and persuade her to stop this nonsense, and convince her that putting pressure on you won't help at all?"

With worry evident in her tone, Lucy meekly answered, "...Yes."

After a couple seconds in silence, Clyde responded, not with excuses nor words that would let Lucy know he would be useless, but words of relief. For the goth, at least:

"I think Haiku and I have a date past tomorrow at an arcade, she said that she needed to take a break after that party you mentioned, so when we go there, I'll talk to her and see what we can do deal with this stuff."

"Thanks, Clyde, you're a life saver!" Lucy remarked in her usual deadpan tone, though her joy was still notable. "S-Sorry, I went a bit overboard there, but still, thanks a lot, Clyde!"

"No problem."

The goth hung the phone, and gleefully sat on her bed... Before she noticed Lynn was looking at her with surprise. "How long have you been there?" Lucy nervously asked, shivering again.

"Ever since you started the phone call," the jock flatly-and kinda exhaustedly-answered. She took a deep breath before she looked at her red ring. "According to Lincoln, he saw some creepy things thanks to the ring. And once my stupid ring actually did something, it showed me... Even creepier things..."

The poet immediately jumped from her bed to Lynn's and got on top of the athlete as she barely processed what just happened. Not helping matters was the bizarre sight of Lucy _smiling_ at the idea.

"Really?! What creepy things did you see?!" Lucy asked, leaning closer and closer to Lynn's face until their noses touched. "Tell me!"

Lynn's unnerved silence basically spoke for itself.

"Uh... Well..."

"Come on, Lynn, you know that as a goth, it takes a lot to scare or even upset me," Lucy blurted, slightly surprising her sister. "And besides, this is just between us. So go on, tell me what you saw!"

Seeing she could trust the goth, Lynn took a deep breath, and answered:

"I saw myself, marrying Lincoln."

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

"Lori, please! I know what Lynn and I did was wrong, for whatever reason, but you have to let me explain!" Luna pleaded as Lori clenched her teeth and grabbed her head. "I mean, I'm too scared to think of any song lyrics to say right now!"

Then, in that instant, Lori caught her breath and her eyes turned back to normal, just so she could give Luna an answer. "I'm sorry, Luna, but I'm not the one in control," and then her eyes glowed seafoam green again. "And you're not in the position to give me orders!"

But then, just as the oldest Loud launched a punch straight for the musician, a bunch of invisible strings attached themselves to her fist, restraining it in the process. Then, seeing the strings briefly reveal themselves as seafoam green strings, Lori and Luna turned around to see Leni, with a hand extended and a stern look, holding the strings with her own fingers while Luan and Lisa watched with worry.


	10. Day of Pageant

**Okay, so before we move on, I need to let you guys know something: The official days I have to sign in for the third semester of college is the 25th of this months and the 5th of May. Why do I point this out? Because my next semester is obviously coming, which means the production of this and any other fics would need to be brought to a halt, or at the very least slowed down a bit.**

 **So, with that said, let's get on with the chapter.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln and Ronnie, mostly Lincoln, decided to help Polly with her issues with Lynn by accepting to give Lynn an invitation to an intervention. While this happened, the three biker girls overheard Leni speaking with Lindsey and Leni about plans to sabotage the beauty peagent, and decided to join as well in order to foil their plan and get the tiara. Sometime later, Lola also convinced Lincoln to help her prepare for the pageant.**

 **But not everything was okay, for Lori discovered Luna and Lynn with the rings and beat them, then threw Luna over the window and continued to face off against her. However, Lana and Lynn were spared of her wrath, and Lynn handed Lana the purple ring, which she then handed to Lincoln. This revealed two important scenes: A post apocalyptic last stand, and his**

 **But he had no time to guess about it, since the twins got on a feud-no surprise there-concerning Lola's lack of concern for Lincoln. Then Lucy appeared, requesting help, and Lincoln suggested someone to her.**

 **Then, in the streets, a mysterious figure made a manhole blow up and watched Lana run away, proclaiming they would see each other soon again. Back with Lucy, she called Clyde for help, and he accepted her pleas of help.**

 **And last, but not least, Lynn revealed to Lucy that what she saw when she put on the ring, was none other than her marrying Lincoln!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Come forth, Demon of Beauty and Glamour! Gremory, We Summon You!**

* * *

Back where we left off, Lucy flinched and backed away upon hearing Lynn's unbelievable claim: She, marrying Lincoln?! There had to be something else! Preferrably something that wouldn't put their minds in the gutter!

"Whaat? There's no way that's what you saw!" Lucy said, before falling off the bed. "There has to have been something else! Was you marrying Lincoln seriously the only thing you saw?!"

"Well, I did get to see other things, but they were all things that come after marriage and... I'd rather skip those and..." Lynn gave Lucy a stern look. "Focus on another alarming topic."

"Which is?"

"You."

The goth flinched, then got up and dusted herself as Lynn got off her bed and walked to her side. "Ever since I left you to use that black book you found in the attic, you've been bumping into stuff left and right!" Lynn put her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Lucy, what happened with that book that made you this clumsy?"

"N-Nothing bad happened, h-honest," Lucy backed away and tried to reach the door. "A-And if something did happen, t-t-then it probably wouldn't be so bad."

Then, when Lucy grabbed and opened the door, Lynn grabbed her free arm and held her as tightly as possible. Curse you, universal, female weakness!

"Lucy, you were tampering with supernatural forces unknown to man!" Lynn sternly argued, though it was clear from her tone she was just really worried for her sister. "If something did go wrong, it must've been really bad, and we need to address it!"

"T-There's nothing to address!" Lucy growled, trying her hardest to free herself from Lynn's grasp.

Then, remembering that Lucy normally kept her eyes covered with her hair, Lynn quickly reached a guess:

"Something happened to your eyes, didn't it?"

Lucy remained silent, then tried to flee the room, only for Lynn to pin her to the ground, smack her arms away and then part Lucy's bangs... Revealing she had gauzers where her eyes would be. Naturally, this made Lynn worry, specially when Lucy started to quietly cry.

"Lucy, why do you have gauzers?" Lynn asked as her gothic sister got up. "W-What happened to your eyes?"

Seeing as Lynn basically saw her gauzers already, Lucy figured there was no point in hiding anything, so she took out the gauzers to reveal her hollow eye sockets... Just as a familiarly-shaped shadow loomed over them. Lynn turned to see the shadow came from Lincoln, who gasped and promptly went to Lucy's side.

"L-Lucy, what happened?!" the boy asked in a panic, though quietly enough so nobody else would hear them. "Where are your eyes?"

The gothic girl took a deep breath, then explained herself to her brother and sister:

"I found a black book on the attic, which apparently dealt with summoning demons. So, since I liked occult stuff like that, I decided to give it a shot. I tried to summon this demon named "Vine," but somehow, I did one of the requirements of the ritual wrong. She punished me by taking my eyes and leaving me blind, though at the very least I managed to find the medical box and cover my eye sockets with gauzers to remove suspicion."

"But that should've hurt like heck!" Lynn pointed out, with Lincoln sadly nodding in agreement. "Nobody heard you screaming the night you used the book."

"Vine muffled my screams of agony until they were nothing but a whisper," Lucy took another deep breath. "Please, if you need me to convince you, then I'll do anything you want, but nobody else must find out about this! Who knows what would happen if someone else found out I was blinded by my own stupidity..."

The goth looked at the ground as she heard somebody get up and dust themselves. "I have to go coach Lola for her beauty pageant," Lincoln remarked, his voice sounding more distant as he left the room. "B-But don't worry, I won't tell anybody about what I saw today."

"Thank you, Lincoln," Lucy said, shedding a single tear. "I knew I could count on you."

"You can count on me too," Lynn added, gently brushing Lynn's hair. "I won't tell anybody about this."

Lucy just silently smiled as Lynn hugged her, followed by Lincoln closing the door and going to coach Lola.

 _Later, with Lincoln and Lola..._

The boy watched as the pageant diva resumed her training for the pageant, mostly involving her ball-balancing technique. However, a couple seconds later, she lost balance and dropped the balls. "Dang it!" she groaned.

"You need to keep your balance consistent, and keep your mind focused on the balls," Lincoln told the girl as he put a bunch of books on her head. "Let's try it with these books. Make sure they don't drop-"

"Lincoln, I already know what to do!" Lola snarled, slapping the boy hard enough to leave a handprint. "Now listen up, those balls were too heavy, that's why I lost my balance and they fell! Now, while I balance these books, go get me a pair of balls that aren't nearly as heavy!"

"Lola, let's be fair here," the boy said, rubbing his slapped cheek. "The balls don't really deserve the blame."

The diva gave her brother a stern look, then switched to a forced smile as she grabbed his shirt's neck and pulled him closer to her. "Lincoln let's be _super_ honest here," the girl replied, with a notable hint of hostility in her tone. "Either you get me a pair of lightweight balls, or I'm going to use your balls instead!"

"...You're kidding, right?"

"Go get the balls already!"

"Well, it seems the lovebirds are having fun."

Lola and Lincoln turned around and saw Lindsey Sweetwater enter the backyard and approach them. Notably, outside of a dress and opera gloves that looked similar to Lola's, but with the hot pink and light pink colors replaced with dark blue and light blue, her whole body-outside of the eyes-was covered in bandages.

"You realize that bickering with your boyfriend won't help you win the beauty pageant, right, Lola?" Lindsey scoffed, chuckling to herself.

"Boyfriend?! I'm her brother!" Lincoln hastily corrected, blushing as red as a tomato.

"Lindsey Sweetwater," Lola narrowed her eyes. "You're going to participate in the beauty pageant too!?"

"You should've known I would enter the beauty pageant the instant you yourself decided to sign up," Lindsey swayed her hair to her side, slapping Lola with it. "Just because I had to go through an extensive plastic surgery doesn't mean I had no time to prepare for it. In fact, right now, I have several days of practice already done."

Lola, however, wasn't so easily fooled. "How do I know you're not bluffing to intimidate me?"

"You don't, and you will never know until the day of the pageant," Lindsey turned around and continued to speak as Lola started to fume with rage."But, if you want to continue wasting your time instead of practicing for this pageant, that's up to you. I'm gonna go back to train, ciao."

However, Lola quickly spotted a loose piece of paper amongst the bandages and pulled it, successfully unwrapping Lindsey. However, what she and Lincoln saw left them slack jawed: Lindsey now looked almost physically identical to Lola, but with a slightly more wild read hair.

"Do I look familiar to you?" Lindsey struck a pose and winked.

"You... You..." Lola stomped the ground. "You copied my looks!?"

"Isn't using plastic surgery to look like Lola a bit too extreme?" Lincoln asked.

"Of course not, to both things: The dress and gloves are a different color, and our hairstyles aren't exactly alike, and I do have my reasons to look like Lola beyond spite," Lindsey swayed her hair to the left. "Besides, I'm still a redhead, and as you should know, everybody loves a redhead."

"I can agree to that," Lincoln nonchalantly remarked, earning himself a jab from Lola. "I mean, uh, I'm not into redheads. Not anymore, anyway."

"Anyway, yes, I did copy your looks, for one specific reason: This pageant will be my rise to become the queen of all pageants," Lindsey leaned closer to Lola until their noses touched. "I will declare myself the queen once I manage to win this pageant, 'cause I've been told that if someone wins this pageant, it's very likely they can win any of them. Finally, I'll make every single victory you got against me meaningless, and make you suffer the same humilliation and shame I got for every loss!"

"Not many people cared about you losing," Lola pointed out.

"My family and my ego did!" Lindsey pushed Lola away. "And once I win this pageant, you'll feel what I felt. See you there, Lola Loud."

With that said, Lindsey left the backyard just as the duo heard three feminine voices shout "Sweet Feet!" in the distance, with Lincoln instantly recognizing who was saying that. Soon enough, the three biker girls appeared in the backyard and hugged Lincoln.

"H-Hi girls," the boy nervously greeted.

"Sweet Feet, we got great news for you!" the leader of the girls told Lincoln.

Sadly, Lola got to hear her call him, "Sweet Feet? Did she just call you Sweet Feet?!" the pageant diva hit the floor and slammed her fists on the ground as she laughed out loud. "What, did they smell your feet and gave you that name in base to that?"

"She's hurting Sweet Feet's feeling!" one of the girls remarked, causing Lola to laugh harder.

Then the leader barked, "Biker Cuties, attack!"

The three girls promptly leaped at Lola and beat her up as hard as they could, with Lincoln wincing as they dealt with Lola with surprising ease. By the time they were finished, they had tied up Lola's arms and feet, and also draw faces on her.

"The mocking bully has been subdued!" the leader proudly proclaimed.

"Girls, please, untie her and clean the doodles you made," Lincoln requested, and without any hesitation, the biker girls obliged: They untied Lola, then messily washed away the doodles. "She's my sister, Lola, and I'm training her to win a beauty pageant, one she told me was in some auditorium."

"Actually, our good news also have to do with that!" the leader added. "We, too, are going to participate in the beauty pageant!"

"What?! Why?!" Lincoln and Lola asked in unison, with notable vitriol in Lola's part.

"We, mostly I, overheard that Lindsey girl talking with someone, and how they'd probably do something to sabotage Lola's chance of winning. Since we also saw the tiara prize looked exactly like the tiara you're looking for, we figured it would be a good idea to try and win the tiara too!" the leader explained, before blushing as she twiddled her fingers. "Thing is, this is the first time we're participating in a beauty pageant, and since you seem to have experiencing coaching in this sort of thing... Could you train us?"

"Whoa, hold it right there, girls!" Lola got on the side of the leader. "Lincoln already promised that he would train me to win the tiara, and he isn't going to accept any more students, right, Lincoln?"

"Uh..."

Suddenly, the ground shook violently, which was not only felt outside, but inside as well. This particularly worried Leni, who was having trouble keeping her balance.

"Okay, what the heck is going on?!" Leni questioned just as Luan and Lisa literally bounced downstairs. Once she noticed them, she didn't seem to realize the duo were slightly bruised from the fall. "Hey, have you seen Lori and Luna?"

The duo, however, could only shake their heads right before the ground shook again. "Wait, Lori and Luna aren't here, and the ground is shaking..." and once she put two and two together... "Oh, like, no!"

 _Meanwhile, at the streets..._

Luna, with a black eye and bleeding nose, was sent flying straight into a tree as Lori, looking like she barely broke a sweat and with seafoam green, glowing eyes, walked to the teenager. "I know you were going to do something stupid eventually," Lori remarked, cracking her knuckles as Luna tried her hardest to get up. "I just didn't expect you to do something _fatally_ stupid."

"L-Listen, Lori, I know you're really angry because of it, but can you at least explain to me what's so important about those rings?!" Luna asked, clinging her right arm. "Because from my point of view, you're beating me up for some stupid jewelry!"

"That's none of your business!" the oldest Loud shouted right before slapping Luna hard enough to send her back to the ground. It was clear from the sobbing and whimping that the rocker probably wouldn't last another attack. "Now listen, the only reason I'm beating you up this badly is to give you a lesson: Stay away from my and Leni's stuff, and don't put your nose where it doesn't belong!"

Suddenly, Luna sprung back to her feet and threw a punch right at Lori's face... Which she caught effortlessly. "A moron with suicidal confidence," Lori stated right before squeezing and practically breaking Luna's hand. "And here I thought Lynn was the only one who fit that description."

Then the girl lifted Luna and threw her away to another tree, with the ensuing crash causing her to spit out some blood. And then, in an unbelievable shock of events, the noise and damage caused by the fight attracted the attention of the news show, with a large van arriving at the scene just as Lori walked to Luna and a bunch of people surrounde them.

"Greetings, people of Royal Woods, Michigan! This is Catherine Butterfly, bringing the daily news report to news watchers all around the city! Yes, all 3 or 5 of you!" said the news anchor woman to the camera as they foolishly walked to Lori and Luna.

However, instead of trying not to get attention or avoid the woman, Lori and Luna looked at the camera in confusion and horror respectively as the news anchor woman leaned her microphone closer to Lori's face. "Can you please give us some context on what's going on, weird glowing-eye lady?"

Upon hearing that, Lori looked at a nearby mirror before taking a deep breath and snatching the microphone. "Listen up, people," Lori ordered, giving the viewer a stern glare that sent chills up their spine. And then she progressively leaned closer to the camera. "My name is Lori Loud, and the only thing that's happening right now, is a lesson. The lesson, to not enter people's room without permission. The lesson, to not take anything from said room without asking first. And most importantly, the lesson, to not put their freaking noses, where it doesn't concern you!"

And as the airing continued and Lori forced the bruised Luna to come to her, Leni, Luan and Lisa watched with absolute horror. "Because if you don't learn from that, you'll wind up looking just like this brat over here!" she hissed before launching Luna right back at the tree by the crotch. "Now if you excuse me, I have to finish giving my little sister, the lesson!"

With that said, Leni immediately bolted upstairs, then left the house a couple seconds later, with Luan and Lisa following her behind. Back at the fight, Lori grabbed Luna by the neck of her shirt and lifted her as the people called for her to stop.

"Lori, please! I know what Lynn and I did was wrong, for whatever reason, but you have to let me explain!" Luna pleaded as Lori cleched her teeth and grabbed her head. "I mean, I'm too scared to think of any song lyrics to say right now!"

Then, in that instant, Lori caught her breath and her eyes turned back to normal, just so she could give Luna an answer. "I'm sorry, Luna, but I'm not the one in control," and then her eyes glowed seafoam green again. "And you're not in the position to give me orders!"

But then, just as the oldest Loud launched a punch straight for the musician, a bunch of invisible strings attached themselves to her fist, restraining it in the process. Then, seeing the strings briefly reveal themselves as seafoam green strings, Lori and Luna turned around to see Leni, with a hand extended and a stern look, holding the strings with her own fingers while Luan and Lisa watched with worry.

With the girl trapped in her grasp, Leni lifted her arm-and Lori-hard enough to send her flying up in the air, right before sending her plummeting to a fountain far away, with the strings breaking in the process.

"Luan, Lisa, go check up on Luna while I, like, deal with Lori!" Leni barked at the duo right before she reached for her pocket and handed them... An amethyst gemstone. "And also, give her this!"

"Why?" Lisa inquired.

"Just do it!"

Leni rushed to fight with Lori while the comedian and the genius, seeing no other options, exchanged looks, nodded and ran to their bruised sister. "Are you okay, Luna?" Luan asked, apparently oblivious to the rocker's bleeding nose and black eye. "Don't worry, Leni's dealing with Lori now, and she also told us to give you this."

Luna was handed the amethyst, and then, before she could even process what was going on, the gemstone levitated and then stabbed her right in the heart, wherein it slowly inserted itself in the girl's body while she screamed in pain and Luan and Lisa could only watch in horror. Oh, and everybody else, including the news crew, joined with the shock.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have no idea what's going on, but it can't be any good!" the news lady told to the camera. "The best thing I can say is that you should avoid the route to the ketcham park and the supermarket for the moment!"

Luckily though, Luna's sharp pain soon finished once the amethyst engraved itself deep into her body, right in the place where her heart would be. Then, the gemstone morphed to match the look of her heart, and it started beating as the chest injury it gave the girl closed and healed in a couple seconds.

"What the heck?" Luan questioned, raising an eyebrow.

And, without warning, Luna was surrounded by a purple aura as she levitated up in the air, right before her eyes and mouth glowed purple, and she was enveloped inside a purple sphere.

Can you tell what her favorite color was?

"Luna, evolve into..." a voice, presumably the teenager herself, shouted to the heavens.

The sphere broke apart and revealed Luna... Was still the same, only for a pair of purple, glowing wing-like appendages shaped like crescent moons to come out of her back, which she promptly spread as purple tear tracks went down her eyes, and a purple collar with chains attached to it appeared on her left arm. Also, her flat chest turned into B cups, at best. She then opened her eyes to reveal they turned purple with black sclera.

Then she struck a pose and flashed a pair of peace signs with a smile.

"Dumah!"

 _Suddenly, at the original reality..._

A shriek of utter terror was heard all across the dimension, with Proto Luan and Proto Lana quickly heading to the source: The domain of Proto Luna. The prototype rocker laid on the ground, shivering in fear.

"High Sister Luna, we heard your screams!" Proto Lana remarked as she and the prototype comedian helped Other Luna get up.

Then, when "Come on, stay with us, tell us what happened?!"

"D-Dumah... Dumah has been awakened..." Proto Luna stuttered in the middle of several deep breaths. "One of the Neo-Angels has awoken already!"

"But, that's impossible, none of our sisters have been sent out yet!" Other Luan remarked as Proto Lana released the rocker and scratched her chin. "The Neo-Angels are only supposed to awaken after we have made our counterparts reach a point beyond rage, what could've caused this early awakening?"

"Call it a hunch, but do you think this was achieved thanks to an artificial mean?" Proto Lana guessed, catching her sisters' attention. "I don't know why, but I get the feeling that one of our servants had a hand in Dumah's early awakening."

Upon hearing that, Proto Luna released herself from Proto Luan's grasp, went to a certain spot, then started praying. Upon seeing that, the proto-joker and proto-plumber exchanged looks before leaving Proto Luna alone, just as she shed tears of fear.

 _Back with Luna..._

With the transformation done, the rockstar returned to reality to see that not only were Luan and Lisa-and also the news crew and people surrounding her-looking at her with surprise, but she was floating above the ground. Her wings weren't even flapping!

"This doesn't make any sense!" Lisa shouted, apparently believing that still mattered at this point. "You shouldn't be able to fly without flapping your wings!"

"Yeah, 'cause that's the only thing that doesn't make sense," Luan quipped, chuckling at her own joke. "Get it?"

As the people whispered to each other about what was happening right now, Luna looked at herself in contemplation. But most importantly, she took a look at the collar in her left wrist, and then saw in her left palm a strange symbol shaped like an L. And then Leni went flying past her and crashed right into the tree as Lori jumped back into the circle and noticed the transformed teenager.

However, instead of being surprised, she looked outright annoyed. "So this is why Leni decided to interrupt our little spar: to let you access your full powers or whatever," she said before cracking her knuckles. "No matter! I'll just have to beat you up again!"

Luna wasn't afraid. In fact, she could feel a lot of determination surging up her... self. "I know something you don't!"

Lori just chuckled at the idea. Of course she knew something she didn't: That she was screwed. "And what's tha-"

Without warning, Luna flew straight to Lori and punched her right in the face, hard enough to not only knock a pair of her teeth off, but also send her flying straight through a tree and onto a building, with the resulting crash leaving behind a large crater in the wall.

"That's me coming for you!"

And the newspeople and Luan and Lisa followed them as their fight continued. However, unlike the beatdown from before, Luna now held a notable advantage over Lori; the teenager threw a couple punches at the winged rocker, who simply dodged them before she slapped her and sent her flying with a punch to the stomach. However, Lori quickly recovered herself and flew back at Luna, right before she threw another punch.

"What's wrong, Lori? Having trouble giving me this "punishment" you were talking about earlier?" the winged rocker scoffed with a smirk. "Girl lemme show you what you need right now!"

But before she could elbow her, Lori managed to grab Luna's arm and lifted her over to her shoulder, wherein she did the most heinous, demeaning thing possible.

Spank her!

"Stop teasing me, you fake Luna!" Lori growled, constantly cackling as Luna yelped from the spanking, with her voice possessing an echo that sounds oddly similar to Leni's voice. "You really got on my nerves now! You should've focused on actually hurting me, instead of spouting stupid song references!"

Everybody else, honestly, no longer had any idea of what was going on. "You did something wrong! You know what you did wrong! So stop being an obnoxious little brat and take your punishment like a grown child!"

And as that happened, Luan and Lisa looked at the event with utter disbelief. "Lisa, I need your know-it-all-titude right now," the comedian told the genius, earning a stern glare from her as she laughed at her own joke. "But seriously, what's going on?"

"It seems that Luna and Lori's epic brawl has turned into a bratty teenage daughter being punished by her mother, and as bad as this sounds, this is still far more interesting than the general combat degeneration most fights deal with," Lisa explained, adjusting her glasses. "By the way, in this analogy, the mother is Lori and the daughter is Luna."

Luan frowned. "Yeah, I can understand that on my own."

And as the spanking continued, Leni flew-yes, flew-back into the action, went straight to Lori and formed a fist. "Do you really think I'll let you hit me that easily?!" Lori snarled as she gave Luna the spankiest spank in a while. A spank so hard, she immediately returned to her base form.

She then punched Leni just as she teleported right behind her, and gently smacked the back of her neck, somehow causing Lori to go back to normal and fall unconscious. Luckily, Leni managed to grab Luna as the oldest Loud crashed into the ground and the newspeople and her sisters surrounded her. "Luna, how do you feel?"

"Spank, woo woo, woo woo, spank..." Luna tiredly asked while imaginary birds flew in circles around her head. Her eyes had also turned into swirling spirals.

"Yeah, I figure you'd be spanked silly," Leni flew to the ground and slowly put the girl on the ground. "But don't worry, it's all okay now-"

And then Luna's butt touched the ground. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

 _Later, at the day of the pageant..._

Lincoln and Lola walked to the place of the pageant, with Lincoln dragging Lola's equipment for her act and looking like he didn't enjoy taking the heavy loads, while Lola seemingly made the atmosphere exuberantly confident just by existing. And, unbestknown to them, Leni sneaked her way into the building and headed to Lindsey's room.

"Well, today's the day you've been practicing for," the boy remarked before he spotted the poster right outside the building. "Oh hey, the tiara we're looking for really is the prize for 1st place."

And then Lola slapped her brother. "Well of course it's in there!" the diva hissed, giving the boy a furious glare. "Do you think I'd take this thing half as seriously if something important wasn't in place? Specially with Lindsey Sweetwater among the contestants?! No! Like, seriously, Lincoln, pay more attention or something!"

"Alright, I get it! Geez, you don't have to act like that!" Lincoln replied as he and Lola walked to the stage. Apparently, he had no idea who he was talking about. "But are you sure you're going to win this? I mean, the tiara does look pretty nice. Not that I would know from experience, but it's quite likely everybody will give it their all to win that thing."

Lola remained silent as the duo headed to the backstage so Lincoln could leave the equipment. Once he put it down, he looked around and soon spotted the pillar containing the tiara, laying on a fancy pink pillow. However, the instant he turned around to see his sister, he met Lola's furious glare. She was so angry, her eyes were literally on fire!

"Do you know who you're talking to?"

The diva grabbed Lincoln by the neck of his shirt and pulled him closer to her.

"Do you know, who you're _freaking_ talking to!?"

And as the pageant princess exploded right in her brother's face-Not like that you perverts!-a trio of shadowy figure silently entered the room and watched the scene.

"I'm Lola Loud! Supreme goddess of beauty pageants! I've been winning pageants ever since I was a baby, which still doesn't make sense up to this day, but that still happened! I've plowed pageant, through pageant, and so on and so forth, and I've never lost any pageant in my entire life! Hundreds of pageant participants wet themselves at the mention of my name, and most forfeit before they ever get a chance to see me in action, because I'm just! That! Good! And if you can't put some stupid faith in me-"

"You should better not be trying to hurt Sweet Feet!"

Lola and Lincoln turned around and saw the biker girl trio shooting glares at Lola. Each wore a dress: The darkest skinned one wore a green one, the light brown-haired one a pink dress, and the leader wore a blue dress.

"Wow, you guys look really good!" Lincoln remarked, sounding legitimately impressed.

Lola sighed, "Yeah, I got to give credit where credit's due, you do look good on those dresses. And I'm not going to hurt Lincoln, I'm just making something clear to him."

The trio narrowed their eyes and cracked their knuckles. "That should better be the case, otherwise you're going to face our wrath!" the leader warned.

Then, once the trio left, Lola chuckled, "Haha! How cute, they think they can actually intimidate me," then she turned to Lincoln. "Get out of my face!"

Then, as Lola literally kicked Lincoln out of the stage, the figures wrote something down and left while Lincoln went to the chairs, where she met with most of the family, including Lucy, but strangely enough, Lana was nowhere to be found. Luna was also absent, but that at least had an explanation.

"Lucy, what are you doing here?" the white-haired boy asked, catching the goth's attention.

"I didn't really feel like going to the vents for inspiration, and I didn't want to end alone back at the house, so I thought I could find some decent inspiration in this pageant," Lucy answered in her usual deadpan tone. "Besides, I need to get my head out of the whole mess with Haiku and Maggie until either Clyde talks with her, or the next couple days come and I have to decide with who I want to train under."

"Okay, then where's Lana?" was the boy's next question, which Lynn quickly answered. "Do you honestly expect her to come to these kind of events? You know she hates anything girly."

"Yeah, besides, she said she was busy with something," Lisa added, adjusting her glasses. "So, yeah, she couldn't come because of that. Don't worry, she's probably doing just fine."

Lincoln, however, couldn't help but look at the ground with worry... Then, he sat down next to Lynn, who was speaking with someone on her phone.

"Listen, Polly, I'd love to waste my time discussing some sort of event with you, but right now, I'm at a beauty pageant my sister Lola is participating at, and if there's something she hates, is for us to miss her pageants. So, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say no."

Then, as Lynn hung up the phone, Lincoln remembered something and took out the piece of paper containing Polly's invitation to an intervention. He gave it a worried look, then took a deep breath.

"Lynn, there's something I need to give you," the boy said, catching his athletic sister's attention. "Something very important..."

 _Meanwhile, with Lana..._

The mud lover slowly walked across the sidewalk, looking at her left and right with worry and caution. She didn't want another manhole to suddenly attack her.

" _Okay, Lana, just remember what happened last time you decided to walk at random without paying attention to anything!_ " she thought, swallowing her fears and putting her hands on her pockets. "Just... Pay attention this time and-What's going on over there?"

Lana ran to the same sewer entrance that exploded before and saw it was surrounded by police tape saying "get out!" in bold letters, which barely concealed the fact the opening had grown far bigger than last time. Though, strangely enough, there weren't any cops, just a teenager that looked like Lori inspecting the entrance. "Uh, lady, what's going on here?" the tomboy inquired, grabbing the police tape and getting ready to rip it off.

"I wouldn't rip that if I were you," the teen said, startling the kid plumber. "Mostly because you'll definitely be fined for it."

The teenager turned around and revealed herself to be Carol Pingrey, who soon walked to Lana and wrote something down on a clipboard. However, simply getting closer and looked at the clipboard allowed Lana to see Carol was just drawing random doodles on it. "Listen up, kid, there's something weird happening down at the sewers, and I was sent here to investigate."

"How funny, you don't look like a cop at all," Lana scoffed before snatching the clipboard away. "In fact, you look more like a... What are those girls called? Catholic schoolgirls?"

Carol snatched back the clipboard and sternly said, "Listen, kid, what's going on inside that sewer is highly dangerous for any normal citi-"

Then there was a beeping noise coming from Carol's ear. "Wait a second, someone's calling me."

The teenager turned around and touched her non-existant earpiece, before opening her eyes to reveal one was glowing light blue, while the other was glowing seafoam green. And she didn't even talk to anybody, she just... Listened.

"So, you said you were sent to check up on that sewer... are you some sort of sewer inspector?" Lana inquired, chirping up at the idea. "You know, I don't like to brag, that's my twin sister's job, but I'd love to be a sewer inspector when I get older! Sure, it's only my third option, but still-"

"Kinda, sorta, that's not really something I like to talk about," Carol answered as she finished her talk, her eyes turned back to normal and she turned back to the tomboy. "Listen, for some bizarre reason, my bosses just contacted me and told me to invite you along. They're saying something that you could be useful for the investigation, and though I find that questionable, I can't really say no to them. So, what do you say? Wanna come along?"

"Go into an abnomarlly large sewer where I could find some sort of weird things, the smell is terrible, and there might be a potential tribe of sewer people living down there..." the mud lover remarked as she thought about the offer.

Then Carol nonchalantly added, "You're forgetting potential distortions in the sewage structure, mutated animals that somehow managed to evolve into abominations, and bums who lives amongst the garbage. Not to mention sheer general disgustingness of the place."

Upon hearing that, Lana cheered up and hugged Carol before chirping, "Sign me up!"

The teenager just grabbed the girl and put her back on the ground. "Good, 'cause they told me to tell you that you couldn't reject the offer just in case you said no," Carol added, startling the mud lover. "Anyhow, let's shut up and get moving."

And just to further make it clear Lana couldn't reject the offer, Carol grabbed Lana and jumped into the large sewer entrance, which closed itself shortly afterwards. Then, as the duo fell down into the sewer, Lana took the time to ask, "So, tell me, are you usually this grumpy and downbeat in life?"

Carol, seeing there wasn't anybody else around, honestly answered, "No, it's just that this job is pretty dang important, so I need to be professional at all times. The last thing I want to happen is for something to go wrong because I wasn't taking things seriously."

Some seconds in silence later, Lana chirped, "That's cool!"

The teen flinched, then blushed as she lookd away and focused on looking for the end of the fall.

 _Meanwhile, at the beauty pageant's backstage..._

Lindsey walked back and forth, arms folded behind her back as she waited for Leni to arrive. Which she did, also holding the same book Lucy used earlier. "About time you arrived!" Lindsey growled in exasperation. "What took you so long?!"

"If we're going to make sure you win this thing no matter what, we need to summon a special someone," Leni explained, then put the book on the ground. "And for that, we need this book. Now find the page with a demon named "Gremory."

Though the "demon" part made her cautious, Lindsey nonetheless opened the book and quickly reached the page of "Gremory." It said that to summon them, the summoners just had to say "Gremory, Memory, bring me victory" while holding hands. So Lindsey and Leni hesitantly held hands and said:

"Gremory, Memory, bring me victory."

And so, from the book came out a pillar of pink light, which quickly transformed into an orb, which further morphed to look like a humanoid creature. Then, it burst... And Proto Lola came out, on a futon and sound asleep.

" _Oh dang, I forgot she's in her beauty sleep at this hour,_ " Leni thought. "Well, it seems we summoned her at a bad time."

"You know it," Proto Lola hissed as she woke up, sending shivers up Lindsey and Leni's spines. "Anyway, I'm assuming this is the girl who summoned me. Well, might as well get this over with."

Proto Lola touched Lindsey's chest, said "Talent Expansion" in a deadpan tone and just watchd as Lindsey went from flat chested to having B cups. "There, are you happy?" the prototype diva asked, seemingly not noticing Leni and Lindsey's dumbfounded expressions.

"Are you kidding me?!" Lindsey growled. "This isn't-"

"Enough? Fine, I'll give you some more," Proto Lola repeated the process, and Lindsey's chest grew D cup breasts. "There, are you happy now? I need my beauty sleep, or else I'll become grumpier than usual, so I'd tolerate it if you quit wasting my time."

"Actually, Gremory, we didn't summon you for talent-" Leni hastily explained.

"Then what do you want? Hips? Appeal? Some sort of glamour?" the prototype diva hissed, shooting a furious glare at Leni as she slapped Lindsey's chest back to being flat as a board. "I have a very tight schedule to deal with, and I don't have time to deal with obnoxious mortals like this brat here!"

Lindsey, too, had her patience quickly wear thin. "Listen up, I don't know why you look like Lola, nor do I care, but what I need from you is-"

Suddenly, Proto Lola aimed her palm at Lindsey, and once it gained an L-shaped symbol, she shouted "Mind crush!"

Next thing Lindsey knew, she felt like her brain was just squished hard enough to give her a headache, but not hard enough to crush it into squishy bits. "That is what you get for both wasting my time and being disrespectful!" Proto Lola hissed. Then she turned to Leni. "And you! I would've used the mind crush on your if only there was a brain in there for me to crush! Now tell me what the girl wants!"

"I need your help making sure Lola Loud doesn't win this beauty pageant!" the dizzy Lindsey barked before collapsing on the ground.

Without warning, Proto Lola slowly turned her head to Lindsey and stated, with a sultry tone, "Well, now you got my attention."

Then she turned to Leni. "Also, Leni, I have something to tell you," she folded her arms and flashed a smirk. "Lucy just told me something _very_ interesting about that book..."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Haiku sat alone at a table in the arcade, playing with her food when Clyde arrived at the arcade and sat at the opposite chair to her. "Sorry for arriving late, Haiku!" the boy apologized, scratching the back of his head. "Did you wait for long?"

"Only for about a couple minutes," the girl frowned. "Sorry for dragging you into this, Clyde, I just... Need someone to talk to, what with the whole issue with Lucy and Maggie-"

"Excellent! I was just about to ask you about it!" the boy said, clasping his hands as Haiku flinched at the sound. "Listen, Lucy called me a while ago to talk with you about it. And she said that you and Maggie are forcing her to choose a poetry teacher. What's up with that?"

"It's... Complicated."

The girl looked at her food, which had been mixed into a shape of her and Maggie beating each other up, while Lucy just... Stood, in the corner. Crawled in a fetal position. Crying.


	11. Rigged!

_L_ **ast time, on Chains of Reality, Lucy revealed to Lynn and Lincoln that her tampering with the dark arts wound up with her losing her eyes. A bit later, Lincoln tried to practice with Lola, but Lindsey's appearance, and the revelation she made herself look like a redheaded Lola with plastic surgery, made it a whole lot harder, and it didn't help that the biker trio came in and asked to be trained for the beauty pageant as well.**

 **As that happened, a fierce battle between Luna and Lori took place, one so furious and one-sided, Leni, Luan and Lisa had no choice but to encrust an amethyst in Luna's heart and re-awaken "Dumah," a mysterious, angel-like form of Luna. However, this still wasn't enough, and it took Leni knocking Lori out for the beating to finally stop.**

 **Then, at the day of the beauty pageant, everybody got ready to participate or watch, in the case of the Louds, while Lindsey and Leni summoned Lola's prototype counterpart, who gave Leni some information concerning Lucy...**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: The Rigged Beauty Pageant and the Mutated Sewer! The Proto-Twins Finally Strike?!**

* * *

 _Back at the Santiago household..._

Polly, Tabby, and Ronnie Anne sat down on the couch as Polly looked somberly at the "call finished" sentence on her phone's screen. "Well, Lynn once again refused to hear out my guess for an intervention," the roller skater put her phone down and took a deep breath. "I'm starting to think the only way to speak to her is to become part of her roller skating team."

Suddenly, the tomboy got an idea and turned to the Hispanic girl. "Hey, Bonnie-"

"Ronnie Anne."

"Yeah, right," Polly twiddled her fingers and crossed her legs. "Would you consider yourself Lynn's friend?"

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "I know she exists, if that's what you mean."

And as Ronnie and Polly continued to speak, Tabby just twiddled her fingers nervously and looked away from their conversation, almost as if she wanted to say something, but she was willing to wait for the duo to talk it out first.

"Well, I used to be part of her roller skating team until she kicked me out for some reason, but I also heard that they're in need of new members. That's where you come in," Polly explained. "Listen, how about I teach you all I know about roller skating, and then you join Lynn's team in hopes of getting closer to her? Preferably when a game is coming up?"

"That sounds like a plan! And definitely sounds like it would be far better than sitting around, calling a thick-skulled knucklehead like Lynn," Ronnie scratched her chin. "So, when do we begin training?"

Just before Polly could answer, she heard her phone ring and decided to answer the call. This gave Tabby the perfect opportunity to talk about what she had in mind with Ronnie.

"So, while we wait for Polly to finish reading Lynn's message, I was hoping we could talk about something," the rocker girl remarked, catching the Hispanic tomboy's attention. "We overheard you talking with Lincoln, and I think you called yourself a bully?"

"Yeah, I guess you can consider me that," Ronnie shrugged.

"You said you'd help us, right?" Tabby inquired, narrowing her eyes as Ronnie nodded. "Well, how do we know we can trust you if you consider yourself a bully?"

"Oh, don't worry, I don't bully Lincoln anymore!" Ronnie waved her hand. "Anybody else is fair game, but not him."

"Ronnie, first of all, I never mentioned nor implied this had anything to do with Lincoln," Tabby sternly pointed out, causing Ronnie to flinch as she added, "And second of all, that doesn't fix the issue at all. In fact, it only makes me wonder if you'll bully us like everybody else."

"W-What?! N-No, I-I would never bully people who are in desperate need of a helping hand!" then the duo heard Polly drop her phone, which made Ronnie turn to her. "That applies to you too, Polly, I-I'd never hurt you, promise!"

But the roller skater didn't respond. Unless you counted "visibly shaking and holding back weeping" as a response.

"P-Polly?" the duo asked in unison.

Again, she didn't respond. Instead, Polly got off the couch, walked to the nearest corner and sat down on a fetal position, while whining like a little puppy. Tabby, of course, quickly went to her side while Ronnie checked the phone; After all, Polly was reading it just before she did... That...

"C-Come on, Polly, you don't need to cry!" Tabby remarked, trying to lift up her friend's spirits. "Look, I'll call Giggles so she can come provide you some laughs, just like she tends to do!" then Tabby turned to Ronnie. "That's a good idea, right?"

The Hispanic tomboy didn't respond. In fact, she shook rather violently...

"Ronnie?"

Let's just say, Ronnie wasn't happy with what she read.

" _Lynn, Hija de pu-!_ "

 _Meanwhile, at the arcade..._

Haiku sat alone at a table in the arcade, playing with her food when Clyde arrived at the arcade and sat at the opposite chair to her. "Sorry for arriving late, Haiku!" the boy apologized, scratching the back of his head. "Did you wait for long?"

"Only for about a couple minutes," the girl frowned, though it was clear she wasn't directing her frown at the dark-skinned geek. "Sorry for dragging you into this, Clyde, I just... Need someone to talk to, what with the whole issue with Lucy and Maggie-"

"Excellent! I was just about to ask you about it!" the boy said, clasping his hands as Haiku flinched at the sound. "Listen, Lucy called me a while ago to talk with you about it. And she said that you and Maggie are forcing her to choose a poetry teacher. What's up with that?"

"It's... Complicated."

The girl looked at her food, which had been mixed into a shape of her and Maggie beating each other up, while Lucy just... Stood, in the corner. Crawled in a fetal position. Crying.

"I don't want to sound like a jerk, but it's mostly because of the whole emo and goth issue," she answered, closing her eyes as Clyde frowned sympathetically. "Since people don't tend to see the difference between emos and goths, then, at least in my case, I get pretty angry about the issue. And when it comes to poetry, I'm kinda... aggressive about it."

Clyde tilted his head. "I'm very passionate when it come to poetry," the girl bluntly stated.

And then the boy laughed out loud. "You? Passionate about something? I'm sorry, but with your usual attitude, I can't believe that!"

"Just because I'm not all that emotional regarding something doesn't mean I'm not passionate about it," the girl took a deep breath and finished, "Point is, when I feel my poetic ability is being threatened, I do anything I can to feel safe again: So when Maggie tried to get Lucy to become her student, I... Acted the way I did."

"You needed to keep Lucy as your student through any means necessary," Clyde argued, shaking his head. "You were afraid to lose not only the only student you ever had, but your good friend-"

"But I'm not just doing it to keep my ego intact! I'm also doing it for Lucy's sake!" Haiku corrected, twiddling her fingers. "I'm not really sure if Lucy training under a similarly depressed goth is a good idea. I mean, poor girl, she's so gloomy and sad in general, and I don't want her to become even gloomier under Maggie's belt. That's just not the Lucy I know and lo-"

Haiku realized what she was about to say, and stopped right before she said something she'd very likely regret. However, fortunately for her, Clyde was more interested about another topic:

"What do you mean that's not the Lucy you knew?"

The poet took a deep breath and explained, "Back when Lucy and I first met, Lucy was shy, but she wasn't exactly what you would call gothic: She had hopes. She had optimism. She actually smiled every now and then... But then, she got into poetry, and everything went downhill from there."

Clyde intertwined his fingers as Haiku continued her explanation, sounding more worried as she continued. And as the explanation continued, Maggie watched them from afar, but close enough to overhear the whole conversation.

"She tried to write her first poetry, and I decided to help her a little. I advised her to be truthful to herself, and she was: What she wrote was happy, hopeful, a few mistakes here and there but those are a fact of life, like the fact that emos and goths are totally different, yet most people are too stupid to see that. But anyway, once she finished her poem, she decided to show it to some fellow poet friends of mine... And they tore it apart. Literally."

Haiku grabbed a pair of napkins and tore them in half. "They said the work was bland, pointless, worthless, and that if she wanted to write true poetry, she had to feel what she was writing. And since she was feeling sad, she wrote something sad, which was a bit better received, but they advised her to feel like that every day from now on to get better. And so, she decided to put on a gothic facade, being gloomy and sad all the time, in order to write better poetry. Something I don't think is necessary, but what can I do? It's already engraved in her brain."

" _But of course it's necessary, after all, how can you write about pain when you've never been hurt yourself?_ " Maggie thought before turning to her food, which she shaped to look like Luan on one side and, for some reason, Luna on the other side.

Not that it mattered, since she ate the food without remorse soon afterwards. " _I should know that better than anybody else._ "

"Even then, are you sure forcing her to choose between you and this Maggie girl is a good idea?" the nerd inquired, adjusting his glasses. "Specially seeing how distressed she sounded when she spoke to me about it?"

And for once, the goth didn't respond right away. She looked back at the Lucy she made out of her food, and saw how sad she looked at the corner. "I honestly don't think so, and if anything, this is probably just an excuse to boost my ego," she stated, turning back to Clyde. "But now, the best thing I can do right now is convince Lucy that learning poetry under me is the better option. I just... I don't want her to make a bad choice..."

Then the goth poet started to shed tears. "And I know what I'm doing isn't any better, but-"

"I understand."

The goth looked back at Clyde and was legitimately surprised when she saw him giving her a reassuring smile. "You did what you did out of desperation, that happens to even the best of us, specially in my case," he quipped, scratching the back of his head. "So don't worry, I'll let Lucy know you didn't mean to get her into this mess. I'll send her a message for"

Haiku smiled, got off her chair and went to Clyde's side, right before she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

" _So, you think that just because you have good intentions to help your friend that I'll go easy on you?_ " the goth thought, narrowing her eyes in determination. " _Sorry, darling, but if you think I'm just going to let you take away my potential poetry student, then you're sadly mistaken!_ "

For the second time in ever, Maggie smiled-though it was clearly with a more malicious intent than before-and she was immediately noticed by Haiku and Clyde right then and there. However, instead of panicking, the duo returned to their business and refused to look at the emo while Clyde wrote the message for Lucy.

Maggie herself turned back to her business... And she intertwined her fingers. " _Hehehe, how adorable, she thinks talking with her boyfriend is going to help her at all._ _I hope they enjoy their time together, 'cause once I begin to get serious, there will be nothing that can stop me._ "

Suddenly, Maggie's phone rang, and she saw it was Luan calling her. Of course, she rejected the call as soon as she could.

" _Nothing except for this obnoxious, third-rate, amateur comedian!_ " then she got an idea and wrote something down. " _Actually, maybe I can use her to my advantage..._ "

 _Back at the pageant..._

Lynn closed her phone and put it back in her pockets as Lincoln, with the crumbled intervention invitation in his face, took off the piece of paper and took a deep breath. "Lynn, why did you say those things?!" the boy scolded, clearly angered at what Lynn said. Whatever she said, anyway. "Polly's just trying to help both you and her amend your relationship, and you tell her... That!?"

"Lincoln, there are no problems with my and Polly's relationship, It's just her taking things out of proportion and you allowing yourself to be fooled by her words!" the jock vehemently stated, crossing her arms and shooting a glare at her brother. "And if you don't want this to get any worse, or to get in my bad side, I suggest you either convince her to stop trying, or you two just quiet this discussion altogether."

And while Lincoln was driven up the wall by Lynn being... Well, Lynn, Luan was trying desperately to call for Maggie, with Lisa giving her an "are you serious?" look. Then she heard the phone hang up, and she took a deep breath.

"Ugh, I don't get it," oh how ironic. "I've already called Maggie three times, and she hasn't answered a single time!"

"Well, you have to think logically: Maybe she's busy with something or else, or has her phone turned off at the moment," Lisa argued as she adjusted her glasses. "Besides, why is it so important to you that she answers your calls?"

The comedian flinched, but nonetheless recovered her composure fast enough to give an answer, "I just want to know how a good friend of mine is doing, okay?"

However, Lisa was quick to point out something: "How are you so sure you're friends?"

"Well, her mother gave me her phone number because she thought I'd make a good friend to her," Luan turned back to her phone as she continued. "She always believed that opposites attract, so with me being a cheery comedian and her being a downbeat... Goth? Emo? I never really got the difference between the two, but we're opposites, so that must mean we could work as good friends!"

Lucy shot a glare, or at least tried to, at Luan when she mentioned the "Goth or emo" thing.

And then Lisa rapidly shot the next questions at Luan, "But has she called you back? Have you interacted personally at all ever since the birthday party? Has she even implied that she sees you as a friend as well?"

The joker's silence spoke for itself. "Well... The answer to all of your questions would be no, but-"

Lisa shook her head in disapproval. "Luan, from what I can see, Maggie's nothing more than an acquaintance at best, and a random stranger you just think of as your friend at worst. Honestly, I believe it would be for the better if you let this whole "Maggie is my friend" thing go before you both regret it."

"Lisa, just became we're not exactly close doesn't mean we're not friends," Luan looked at the ceiling and took a deep breath. "Besides, an acquaintance is just a friend before you befriend them."

The prodigy, however, wasn't going to let a potential counterpart to that statement go unnoticed. "They can also be an enemy you yourself created thanks to your stubborn belief they were your friend."

"Oh, quit it with your cynicism, would you?"

"I'm a scientist, cynicism is part of the job description."

Suddenly, the "message received" sound was played and Luan checked her phone to see Maggie had sent her message. Not for her, but for Lucy. She opened the message and read it before writing a part of it on a piece of paper.

"Hey, Lucy, Maggie sent you a message," the comedian blurted, catching the goth's attention as she handed her the paper. "She says she's going to shorten the days before the decision you have to make, and that you should call her to her phone number, which I just gave you, when you have the time."

"Wait, what?!" the goth exclaimed, her hair spiking up in shock.

"Everybody shush!" Lori barked, causing her siblings to immediately shut up. "It's about to start."

The contestants stood in the pageant stage, with all the girls-including Lola-flashing wide smiles-and large hand waves at Lincoln in the case of the biker trio-at the audience as the main judge spoke. "Greetings, and welcome to the Little Miss Royal Woods Pageant!" the man said to the microphone, with everybody cheering soon afterwards.

However, while the old fart continued to talk about nonsense nobody cared about, Lola couldn't help but glance at the other contestants, who were seemingly ignorant of who they were competing against. At least the biker trio, who never got the chance to personally know the prima donna, and Lindsey, who faced off against her several times before, had an excuse, but the other girls? Not a chance.

" _I don't get it, I'm infamous amongst the beauty pageant community, so why aren't these girls terrified of being next to me?_ " the girl thought, right before the girls glanced at her... And giggled. Followed by Lindsey doing the same as Lola shot a glare at her direction. " _One thing's for sure, though, I'm not going to let Lindsey win the tiara that easily!_ "

"And now, we shall introduce the contestants," the judge said before leaning the microphone to Lola. "How about you tell us who you are, miss?"

Seeing this was her chance to strike fear into her opponents, to get an easy win, Lola was blunt with her answer:

"Name's Lola Loud."

However, the seas didn't drift apart, pigs didn't start to fly, and most importantly, the girls didn't become scared of the girl once she revealed her identity. Again, it was understandable for the biker trio and Lindsey, but why weren't the other girls at least surprised?!

In fact, some were more along the lines of angry, if the glares they shot were any indication, while the others just made their smiles even wider. And then the judge went to the next contestant.

" _Okay, I failed to scare them! That's one of the most important steps to get an easy win, and I just failed to do that!_ " the diva thought, clutching her head in horror and looking at the ground.

" _What am I going to do now?! I'm not used to this kind of competition, I'm going to lose for sure!_ " and then she slapped herself. " _No, bad Lola! You're the best pageant winner around! Just because some girls aren't scared of your name doesn't mean you have to act like this! Instead, make them fear your name! Teach them to fear you!_ "

"Now that's something you don't see every day; girls in a beauty pageant, not scared of Lola," Lucy remarked, making Luan chuckle. "But seriously, though, it's kind of unnerving how they didn't even flinch."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, doesn't Lola look a bit... Nervous?" Lincoln asked, scratching his chin as he narrowed his eyes and leaned closer. "I mean, I've never seen her act like that before."

"Maybe she's realizing that this isn't like the other pageants she participated in?" Lynn guessed while Luan nodded in agreement. "And that if she wants to win, she has to take things seriously, or be humbled in the process. That's a lesson I've learned in the past."

Something didn't quite convince her siblings she was telling the truth.

"True, that little brat needs to be humbled," Lori added, earning her an angry look from Leni. "What? I'm being literally honest."

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Lori on this one," Lisa blurted, catching everybody's attention. "According to a test I ran concerning Lola, the size of her ego and victory streak has reached unhealthy levels. It's reached such a point, she's in danger of transcending from spoiled brat into a super spoiled brat, and the only way to fix that is by her being humbled."

"But if she loses the pageant, we won't be able to get the tiara," Lincoln pointed out, making Lori and Leni looked away. "And seeing how we haven't got any of the items yet, we _really_ need to get this tiara right now!"

"I'm not saying she should lose, I'm saying she should turn more humble from the experience," the genius clarified. "After all, getting the tiara is good and all, but wouldn't it be more satisfying if Lola actually became tolerable in the process?"

And as the family continued to talk, the judge introduced the other contestants while Lola stood still amongst them, twiddling her fingers in terror. She _was_ an infamous pageant player, so why were these girls not scared of the fact they were facing off against her?

But nevertheless, the pageant continued, and they started with the first round: The interview.

"Alright, Mrs. Loud," the judge said, leaning the microphone closer to the still surprised Lola. "How about you tell us some stuff about yourself? Your reason for entering this pageant, what do you plan to do with the prize, and what's your ambition in life? And please be honest in your answers, otherwise, it might hurt your chances of winning this pageant."

The pageant diva turned to the audience-which basically consisted of nondescript people and her family-and saw Lincoln giving her a smile and a pair of thumbs up, while everybody else were either neutral or giving her looks that practically _ordered_ her to win.

So she took a deep breath and answered honestly; "I entered this tournament to help a friend with something they're working on, I plan to use the prize to help him discover a big mystery about... Something, and my ambition in life, is to help my family deal with their issues and live well-adjusted lives!"

" _This is great! She's definitely going to win this round now!_ " Lincoln thought confidently.

And then Lola added, "But if that's not an option, world domination is also good!"

The boy sulked, with Lucy comforting him while Lori and Lynn chuckled, earning a smack from Leni and Luan respectively. Lisa just said "Of course" with a shrug, almost as if she had seen that answer coming. And the judge continued with the other interviews as he said "Okay, now for the remaining contestants. Please tell us your ambitions."

Which quickly caught Lola's attention; in any other pageant, the interviews would be the same for each contestant. And yet, Lola was the only one who got the full package. Not that she minded, anything to feed her galactic ego was good in her eyes, but this still seemed suspicious...

 _Meanwhile, at the sewers..._

Lana and Carol, holding hands, landed safely on the start of the sewer and decided to walk deeper into the spacious sewer. And as they checked their surroundings, they couldn't help but be wary of anything they could come across: monstrous alligators, giant rats, mutated turtles dressed like ninjas, anything could happen.

Not that Lana was too scared, after all, just being around Carol made her feel safe... Somehow.

"So, tell me, how is it like being a sewer inspector?" the girl asked, picking her nose. "Do you tend to investigate rather stinky sewers, or are they moderate in the stench scale? I'm asking 'cause I want to make sure I keep my nose alive until I give this job a shot."

"Listen, I'm going to be honest with you: I'm not exactly a sewer inspector," Carol responded, focusing entirely on her surroundings. "I'm basically an agent of my bosses, who primarily send me off to find out what exactly happened down here that made things wrong"

"Wrong in what way?" the tomboy inquired, chirping up as she got a couple ideas. "Like a sewer alligator? Or even better, a sewer shark?! Oh, please tell me we're going to fight a sewer shark!"

"Listen, you're really adorable, but don't be ridiculous," Carol replied, making Lana stop right in her tracks. "If there's anything in these waters, it's probably dead already-"

Then the tomboy released Carol's hand and crossed her arms as she asked, "What did you say?"

Carol stopped on her tracks and turned around to see Lana blushing and giving her a stern, pouty face. "Did you just call me cute?"

"Yes, because I found your chirping adorable," the teenager answered, crouching down and pinching Lana's cheek. "And your little pouty face right now is even cuter!"

Lana slapped Carol's hand away as the teenager laughed and the tomboy rubbed her cheek. However, instead of being incredibly angry at what the tomboy did-She definitely was angry, to be sure, but not to the extent she should be-Carol was actually... Amused. Almost as if she found Lana's response even more cute.

"You remind me a lot of... A friend of mine," Carol remarked, scratching the back of her head as Lana calmed down. "Well, not exactly friend, our relationship's a bit complicated, but I like to think we're friendly with each other. And she also doesn't like to be called cute."

"What's the name of this friend?" Lana asked, picking her nose and raising an eyebrow. "Her description sounds rather familiar to me, for some reason-"

"Well, don't think about it, 'cause I'm pretty sure my friend isn't anybody you've met before," Carol clarified. Of course, this only made the tomboy more curious, so she took a deep breath and gave her a honest answer; "The friend I'm talking about is... My ''mother'', for lack of a better word... One of two, to be honest."

"Oh, so you're a mommy's girl?" Lana took out a booger and threw it away as Carol blushed and expected the tomboy to make fun of her or something. However, she was legitimately caught off-guard when the girl not only didn't mock her, but actually seemed rather supportive. "That's nice! Most of the girls I know are daddy's girls, including me!"

"Wait, you consider yourself a daddy's girl?" Carol asked, turning back to Lana.

"Yeah! Or at least, I try to be close to him," the discount plumber leaned against a wall and crossed her arms as she looked at the ceiling with relief. "With so many sisters around, and lacking any significant traits that separate me from my sisters, trying to get the attention of mom and dad is hard, so I mostly focus on getting dad's attention. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don't... So, yeah..."

After remaining silent for a couple seconds, Carol grabbed Lana's arm and the two continued to walk deeper into the sewer. "This talk about mothers and fathers is making me uncomfortable, so how about we continue to investigate for the source of the sewer's mutation?"

"Sounds like a plan, but how about we look for the reason this sewer changed appearance instead?" Lana suggested.

Unsurprised by the suggestion, Carol rolled her eyes and said "Sure" as they continued the investigation. That is, until they spotted a shadowy figure looking at them in the distance, which they chased after once the figure started to run away.

 _Back at the Pageant..._

The contestants stood in a line as the last contestant finished her interview, with Lola twiddling her fingers as she anxiously waited for the old fart to head to the next round already. Yes, she was raised to do this, and she knew how these things worked, but for some reason she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Specially given her failure at intimidation earlier.

"And now, we'll begin with the second round of the pageant: The talent show!" the judge exclaimed, giving Lola a sense of relief, for some reason. "The order will be the inverse order of the interviews, so we'll end with Mrs. Loud!"

"Hmm, this is strange," Lisa remarked, narrowing her eyes as she gave a closer look to the stage.

"What do you find strange? The fact that we got the tomboys of the family to come here?" Luan asked, laughing at her own joke afterwards. "Or the fact that you let yourself be convinced to come to this thing?"

Lynn went "Oooooh!" before she and the comedian did a fist bump, all while the little genius gave them an annoyed look. "First of all, I didn't let myself be convinced so easily; Leni had to promise me to bring me some parts for... A project I'm working with someone, in exchange for coming here," Lisa sternly explained.

Lynn and Luan just rolled their eyes in a "yeah, right" fashion. "Second of all; no, that's strange, but nothing compared to this whole pageant. I mean, the judge has only put focus on Lola, and not on the other contestants. I mean, when he did the interviews, he just asked the girls for their ambitions, and nothing else. He didn't even ask for their names."

And then she noticed Lola giving the judge a cautious look. "Plus, even Lola seems to find something weird about this whole thing!" Lisa stated while Lincoln looked at the pageant diva. "First she fails to intimidate her opponents, and now she's dead last to show her talents? It doesn't make any sense!"

"Now that you mention it, something feels weird about this whole thing-" and then Lola walked to the curtains and ripped them off. "What is she doing?!"

The discount princess turned to look at the judge and contestants... Who just continued to smile as they looked at her with neutral looks. Most of them anyway, Lindsey and the biker trio were more along the lines of surprised.

Then, the girl smirked as she walked to the pillar with the tiara, and swung her arm to it. And no, once she "hit it", the pillar didn't tumble down, or even physically be affected. In fact, her arm phased right through the thing as if it wasn't even there.

"Just as I suspected," the diva turned back to the contestants and judge, who frowned and flinched in surprise. The contestants, anyway, the judge didn't even move.

And they weren't the only ones, as Lori and Leni's eyes widened once they heard her. "The incomplete interviews, the fact that nobody's terrified of my identity, the pillar and the prize being illusionary..."

Lori narrowed her eyes, Leni frowned as she bit her fingernails and the rest of the family leaned closer as they waited for Lola's revelation. And so, the girl pointed at the contestants and judge, flashed a furious scowl and gave the revelation:

"This entire thing is rigged against me!"

Lori and Leni calmed down while the rest groaned in frustration. In particular, Lindsey looked almost angry and annoyed that the prima donna had figure out everything was rigged, though the judge was still fairly stoic.

"Hey Lola, it's my job to make our family groan in exasperation!" Luan shouted, laughing before adding, "Get it?"

 _Meanwhile, at the sewers..._

Carol and Lana stopped right in the spot they saw the shadowy figure go inside and walked forward until they found a particular gate that was glowing dark blue from the inside.

On the gate itself were the images of two figures strikingly similar to Lana and Carol facing off against another Lana look-alike and four mutant ninja... Frogs? Toads? Turtles? It was hard to guess.

"This has to be the source of the sewer's mutation!" Carol remarked, pounding her fist against her hand.

"Yeah! And it's weird transformation!" Lana added, imitating Carol's moves.

The teenager wasn't amused. "Anyway, there's no time to waste, let's go in!"

The duo literally kicked the gate open and saw not only another manhole exit, but the cloaked figure blocking the way there, in the middle of a square platform surrounded by water. So the pair walked forward and stared at the figure as it just... Stood there... Looking at the water... Until they spoke, with a surprisingly deep, yet childlike voice:

"So, we meet again. First, you take away my life, and then, you're foolish enough to summon me with your anger," the figure sternly said, though neither Carol nor Lana could tell who they were talking to.

And then the figure turned to Lana, with some tadpoles on their hand amidst some water. "Wasn't it enough to leave me and my family in the dust? To destroy the place we were supposed to call home? To imprison us all in an attempt to keep your world from falling apart? And now, all I have are these little tadpoles, representing how we need to start all over again..."

"Dude, I agree that what happened to you, from what I've heard, is pretty bad, but why are you talking like it's been a long time since we last met?" the tomboy replied, picking her nose again. "I've never seen you before in my entire life!"

The figure chuckled, though at points it sounded more like they were sobbing. "Of course, that's what "he" did. He made sure you wouldn't remember anything. "He" made sure none of you remembered anything." and then they grabbed their cloak. "So, just to refresh your mind, how about I show you who I am?"

The figure threw away their cloak, and revealed themselves to be none other than the Other Lana, with a long brown scarf around her neck. And though Carol was surprised at the revelation, Lana literally couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Remember me now, Hayyel?" Other Lana smugly asked, narrowing her eyes as she took out a wrench-blade hybrid weapon from her back.

 _Back at the pageant... Again..._

Lola continued to give the judge a stern look as he and the contestants, seeing that Lola had found out their little trick, smiled with hints of hostility. "Well, old fart, am I right or am I right?" the diva sternly asked. "And since there's no way you're getting out of this, I demand that you tell me why did you rig this pageant against me!"

"I guess there's no more point in hiding myself, is there?" the judge asked, with a voice that sounded like Lola, but higher pitched. "I have to congratulate you, Jophiel, you managed to figure out this thing was rigged. But even then, it's not like it means anything..."

Think a chipmunk Lola, then make her 10x times more annoying. That's how his voice sounded.

"Why... Why does your voice sound like an obnoxious version of me?!" Lola asked, taking a step back in surprise. "A-And what do you mean it doesn't mean anything?!"

The judge and other contestants laughed as the girls-minus Lindsey and the biker trio-melted into some pink goo-slime thing, which then covered the judge one by one until they slowly morphed into a small, child-like figure. Then, the figure seemingly summoned the tiara out of thin air as it finished morphing into Other Lola, wearing an elegant, seemingly scaled pink dress with a white sash over it.

Needless to say, everybody was left speechless at the revelation, except for Lindsey, who just smirked in amusement.

"Wait, what?!" Lola exclaimed as her look-alike laughed at her face. "First Lindsey copies my looks, and now the old fart copies them too?!"

"Darling, the old man I looked like was nothing more than a disguise. What you're seeing is the real deal," Proto Lola flashed a smirk. "Speaking of which, you may see me now, but soon..."

Then the impostor turned to the audience and shouted as she formed a diamond symbol with her arms:

"Diamond flash!"

Suddenly, a white bright light blinded the Louds-and destroyed the remaining audience-for a couple seconds, and once the seconds passed, they just barely caught a glimpse of Other Lola kicking Lola so hard, she was sent flying through the wall and outside, wherein Other Lola flew-yes, _flew_ -after her. And so, they gave chase, with Lindsey and the biker trio following after them...

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lola asked in terror. "What did I ever do to you?!"

"You stole my family's lives, our home, and our brother," Other Lola sternly hissed, pinning Lola to the ground. "And now that I have the chance," she stepped on Lola's head repeatedly, just hard enough to hurt her but soft enough as to not break her skull. "I'll make sure you suffer, for taking all of my happiness away! And once the rest of my family is summoned, we'll make sure, each and every one of you, pay for what you did!"

And then a pebble hit her in the head. Not a rock, a pebble. And of course, once she turned around, it turned out that Lincoln was the one who threw the pebble, with Lori and Leni-and also the other sisters-looking at him in shock.


	12. Battle of Twins!

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, both the beauty pageant and the sewers came with an unexpected surprise: Proto Lola and Proto Lana, revealing themselves to the Louds and Lana and Carol Pingrey respectively! And while**

 **Did anything else happen? Of course, something about Polly being depressed from something Lynn sent her, and Maggie sending a message to Luan, but the proto-twins are the bigger concern now!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Who is the Better Set?! Protoype Twins Versus Neo Twins!**

* * *

At the Santiago household, Polly, Tabby, and Ronnie Anne sat on the couch and watched as Giggles balanced herself on a ball, while juggling three bowling pins and playing a little tune in a kazoo. This was one multi-tasking clown, that's for sure. And once she finished, she was met with wild applause from Tabby and Ronnie, and mild applause from Polly.

"Thanks you, everybody, I will be here all week!" Giggles cheerfully exclaimed, before adopting a kinder tone and turning to Polly with a worried look, "Did you like it, Polly?"

"It was good as always, Giggles," Polly answered. She then hung her head low, her smile slowly turning into a frown. "Still, what Lynn sent me... Might not go away with just a simple act, even if it was as good as yours. No offense, by the way."

"I know, we need the whole squad in here!" Tabby suddenly exclaimed, catching everybody's attention. "Ronnie, you really want to help us and show us you're not a bully?"

Ronnie narrowed her eyes. "If it helps you change how you see me, then yes!"

"Can you convince your brother and maybe your parents too to let us hold a sleepover here?" the rocker requested, earning a surprised look from Ronnie. "Polly really needs some help only all four of us can give her, and while I could understand it if you can't do it, what matters right now is whether or not you'll even-"

However, Ronnie had long left the living room by the time she was about to finished her sentence. "-Think about it?" and, assuming the worst, Tabby turned to Polly and asked, "Where did she go?"

Polly's answer was rather blunt: "She said something along the lines of "I don't have time for this" and told us to wait here while she tries to get her brother's permission."

With that said, Tabby flinched and smiled as she was relieved Ronnie actually considered doing her request. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all?... No, they couldn't just let themselves be fooled so easily, specially given how little they knew of Ronnie.

Speaking of her, the Hispanic tomboy knocked the door to her brother's bedroom, and once she heard "It's open!" she opened it and went inside. "Bobby, listen, this may be much to ask, but-" once she turned around, Ronnie saw Bobby looking at his phone with worry. "-What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to call Lori, but she just doesn't answer!" Bobby answered, despair and worry highly evident in his tone. "I've already called her three times, but she hasn't answered at all! She usually

"That is kinda weird... But I have something else to ask you," Ronnie clasped her hands and took a deep breath. "Listen, remember the two friends I brought here, Tabby and Polly Pain? Polly is in serious need of some help with emotional issues, and Tabby suggests a sleepover with their other friends could work, so, can we do that?"

"Yeah, sure, do whatever you want," the teenager answered, focusing solely on his phone screen. "Just make sure they don't bring too many people, nor destroy part of the house, I don't want our home to become a Hispanic version of the Loud house."

Ronnie nodded and immediately bolted downstairs to tell the clown, the rocker and the roller skater the good news. "Guys, Bobby agreed!" she exclaimed, catching the trio's attention. "We can do the sleepover!"

"We must call Haiku right now!" Tabby and Giggles said in unison.

With that said, the duo immediately left to call for Haiku, while Polly got off the couch and walked to Ronnie. Once she was in front of her, the Hispanic tomboy could see her smile was no longer forced, but genuine and grateful. And then, Polly hugged her.

"Thanks, Ronnie."

Though shocked at first, seeing how happy Polly seemed to be brought a smile to Ronnie's face right before she returned the hug.

"No problem, Polly. No problem."

 _Meanwhile, with Lola..._

The prima donna opened her eyes as she slowly regained consciousness, though her vision was too blurry for her to notice anything significant. And unfortunately, once she rubbed her eyes and got a better look at her surroundings, the first thing she saw was Other Lola's smirk right before she kicked her straight into the ground, leaving behind a crater.

In fact, the crash was so powerful, that Lana, Carol and Other Lana could sense the vibrations from the sewers. "Huh, it looks like my sister is beating up her impostor," Other Lana remarked, glancing at the manhole as she reached for her pockets. "I should better join her."

Then, Other Lana took out four cards and put them at the ground, wherein four identical humanoid frog samurais came out of them. One welded nunchuks, one wielded a bo staff, one held a pair of sai, and the other... Used a skateboard?

"Young Adult Mutated Samurai Frogs!" Lana exclaimed in awe as the frogs got ready for combat. "Awesome!"

"And stupid," Carol added in disbelief and exasperation.

"Homer, Aphrodite, Phaedrus, Aristophanes, keep these girls busy while I help Lola beat up her counterpart," Other Lana ordered the frogs, who nodded without question. "After all, she may be nearly invincible in terms of mental torture, but in terms of combat, she's a complete pushover."

The frogs nodded and ran after the duo while Other Lana climbed up the stairs leading to the manhole. Noticing this, Carol grabbed and threw Lana towards her impostor as she engaged in combat with the frogs, while Lana and Other Lana engaged in a big ball of violence that brought them back to the floor, with Lana on top of Other Lana.

"Did you really think I was going to let you go that easily?!" Lana growled, restraining Other Lana's arms. "I'm not letting you get out of here! And once the lady and I are finished with you, I'll go help my sister deal with this impostor you're talking about!"

"I'm afraid you're wrong, because _I'm_ going to beat you before you ever get to do that!" Other Lana snarled, licking her lips. "Specially if I do it without the "b"!"

"What?"

Suddenly, a large frog-like tongue came out of Other Lana's mouth and caught Lana in the forehead, right before Other Lana basically engulfed Lana while Carol could only watch. "Kid!" the teenager remarked, kicking a frog in the face.

Then, Other Lana got up as her body glowed a faint dark blue, followed by her pigtails growing longer and messier, and her eyes gained cross-like pupils.

"You know, when I wondered whether to use this back home, I didn't really think engulfing you would do anything to me," Other Lana remarked, her voice gaining a secondary voice that sounded just like Lana's. "Not that I'm complaining. After all, what's more satisfactory than beating up the person who destroyed my home with the power of her own sister?"

With that said, Other Lana jumped high and hard enough to crash through the manhole and land right outside, leaving behind Carol to deal with the humanoid frogs. Not that Carol wanted to stay behind, but she just so happened to get a "call" from her "bosses" when she tried to leave.

" _Where do you think you're going, you little runt?!_ "

"A little kid I brought here was just absorbed by her counterpart!" Carol growled in response, before easily blocking a quadruple attack from the mutant frogs. "I need to go help her!"

" _No, what you need to do is stay here and deal with these frogs, while Barbatos heads off to help Gremory try to defeat her counterpart._ "

" _And remember._ "

Suddenly, Carol pushed the frogs away and groaned as she grabbed her head, and her eyes' sclera changed color again: One changed from white to seafoam green, while the other changed to light blue.

" _You have no choice but to obey._ "

"O-Okay, I get it!" Carol exclaimed, and her eyes turned back to normal and the pain went away right before the frogs fought her some more. "Ugh, I sure hope Lana finds a way out of this predicament..."

 _Back with the Lolas..._

Other Lola threw Lola into a tree hard enough to knock it over, causing it to crash right on top of a nearby car just as she felt her head ringing, which was only made worse when the car's alarm went off. However, it was only Other Lana telepathically calling her... On top of the car alarm.

" _What is it, Lana?_ " the copycat prima donna sternly asked. " _I'm kinda busy at the moment._ "

" _I'm heading to your location right away!_ " Other Lana mentally explained as she literally jumped like a frog to the place the battle was taking place at. " _Do you think you can last a couple minutes while I get there?_ "

" _Oh please, as long as she doesn't become a warden or angel or whatever that form's called, my counterpart is a piece of cake!_ " Other Lola proudly, mentally boasted. " _And speaking of brats, what about your counterpart? Did you beat her or something?_ "

" _In a sense,_ " Other Lana rolled her eyes. " _Anyway, just keep on fighting while I get there._ "

The Other Twins' mental call ended just as the Loud family, the biker trio, and Lindsey reached the scene and caught Other Lola's attention... Though really, the only one she even paid attention to was Lincoln, who she seemed to be legitimately happy to see. So much so, she solely focused on him as she threw a large tree at her counterpart, which completely missed it's intended target.

"Lincoln!" Not-Lola chirped as she ran straight for the boy...

...Only to be stopped by the sisters-except Lori, Leni, Luna and Lana-forming a line that blocked her path to the boy. The biker trio also joined in, while Lindsey stood behind and ran off to see how Lola was doing. "Stop right there, discount Lola!" Lisa, the first in line, stated.

"If you want to get to him, you'll have to get past us!" Luan, the last in line, added.

"Yeah! We'll never let Sweet Feet be hurt!" the leader of the biker trio proclaimed, with her companions nodding in agreement. "Either by his sister's hands, or yours!"

Other Lola gave the sisters a deadpan "are you serious?" look before jumping on their heads in line, before kicking Luan's butt and causing the sisters to fall like dominoes. She then hugged Lincoln affectionately as Leni and Lori simply watched the scene; Lori saw it with deadpan indifference, while Leni looked a bit worried.

"I missed you so much!" Not-Lola proclaimed, shedding tears of joy as she then checked Lincoln out. "Tell me, have you been good? Has life treated you well?" then she leaned even closer to his face, sporting a dreamy look, "Do you need me to give you some love these stupid, inferior copies probably never give you?"

"Hey, we're right here, you know!" Luan, and the other sisters, shouted.

Not-Lola only bothered to glance at them for 2 seconds right before showering Lincoln with some more attention. "Now that I think about it, how has my counterpart been treating you?" and then she kissed his cheeks. "Has she been nice? Has she been so-so?"

Linc was quick to nervously answer. "Um, she's been a bit obnoxious, very rude, and outright bossy, but-"

Other Lola chuckled and released the guy, with her chuckling continuing as she walked back to Lola while the trio just watched, though Lori and Leni tried to move before their eyes turned seafoam green and blue respectively and they found themselves unable to move.

" _Guys, let us go!_ " Lori mentally requested, though her tone made it sound like she was giving an order or something.

" _And let you ruin Lola's chance of earning some sweet, sweet catharsis?_ " Proto-Leni replied in a mocking tone. " _Sorry, darlings, but that wasn't part of the deal._ "

" _There wasn't any deal in the first place!_ " Leni mentally argued in exasperation.

" _Even more reason for you to shut up and stay out of this,_ " Proto-Lori retorted.

Meanwhile with the Lolas, the bruised pageant diva just barely managed to get up as her impostor walked to her, with her hands on her hips and flashing a malicious smirk.

Strangely enough, outside of some blood coming out of her nose, a black eye, and some bruises, Lola didn't seem all that damaged from the beating she got. But don't worry, Lindsey was around to mock the diva. "Well, Lola, I honestly didn't expect to see you like this," the redhead shot a glare at Lola's direction. "How does it feel to hit rock bottom after you've worked so hard to win something? Just like me, every time I faced off against you?"

"Wow, you must be one tough cookie to break if all I did to you only gave you a nosebleed. Either that, or you're a pervert who's enjoying this," Other Lola mockingly remarked as she grabbed Lola by the neck of her dress, completely disregarding Lindsey's existence. "I mean honestly, I expected you to break a couple bones, maybe some ribs, I heard those go well with barbecue sauce sauce-no wait, I'm thinking about the wrong type of ribs. My bad!"

"Why are you doing this to me?" Lola asked in terror. "What did I ever do to you?!"

"Well, for starters, I summoned her in order to further humiliate you!" Lindsey answered, earning herself a glare from the other Lola. "And now-"

Suddenly, Proto Lola aimed her palm at Lindsey and sent her flying with a single push, which sent her crashing straight into a tree. Just like Lola, the redheaded prima donna somehow came out of it with only a couple bruises. "Hey, what's the big deal?!" the redhead whined. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"You stole my family's lives, our home, and our brother," Other Lola sternly hissed, pinning Lola to the ground. "And now that I have the chance," she stepped on Lola's head repeatedly, just hard enough to hurt her but soft enough as to not break her skull. "I'll make sure you suffer, for taking all of my happiness away! And once the rest of my family is summoned, we'll make sure, each and every one of you, pay for what you did!"

And then a pebble hit her in the head. Not a rock, a pebble. And of course, once she turned around, it turned out that Lincoln was the one who threw the pebble, with Lori and Leni-and also the other sisters-looking at him in shock. And then he turned to the biker girls.

"Listen up, I don't know what I'm doing, but it's definitely not going to be pretty," the boy told the trio, who listened to him as clearly as possible. "So go back home and hope for the best."

Naturally, the three girls weren't just going to tuck their tails between their legs and flee. "But Sweet Feet-!"

"I'm your leader, and I'm ordering you to get out of this soon-to-be battlefield!" Lincoln snapped, only to return to a sweeter tone as he added, "For your sake."

Understanding what he meant, the girls nodded and immediately ran away. The boy then turned to his sisters, but this time, no words were exchanged. Not that they needed to, it was clear he wanted them to stay out of the fight as well.

Then he turned back to Proto-Lola, and the instant their eyes met, Lincoln's confidence was suddenly filled with a subtle hint of fear.

"Hey!" the boy shouted, giving Other Lola the pointer finger. "S-Stay away from my sister!"

And then another rock was thrown, this time by Lindsey. However, not only did the rock barely make the prima donna faze, but she didn't even seem to notice she was attacked in the first place. "Stop ignoring me, you discount Lola!" Lindsey growled, seemingly failing to understand the irony of her statement.

But yet again, Lindsey was ignored.

Impostor Lola gave the boy a look of complete and utter disbelief before she kicked Lola away, causing the girl to yelp "ouch!" in response. "B-But, Lincoln... I-I'm your sister! Your true sister!" she argued in desperation, pointing at the bruised Diva as she continued. "Y-You honestly don't think this copy is your sister, right?"

But the boy didn't respond, and from there, Other Lola shed some tears... And then walked to Lola and lifted her. "What did you do to him?" she asked her counterpart, face-to-face, as tears went down her cheeks. "Why does he think a disgusting copycat like _you_ is his real sister!?"

And she wasn't the only one crying, as Lola cried "I don't know!" as she shed even more tears and stared bawling like a baby. Then again, given what she went through, it was bound to happen. And it was at this point that Other Lola took a deep breath... And chuckled...

"You're right, you don't know, and you'll never know," she argued as she caught her counterpart's attention. "I'll just have to end this little fight between us right now! With your death!"

"What?!" the whole family shouted in disbelief.

Other Lola opened her mouth and charged some pink energy right at the bruised diva as she tried to think of what to do. And as she realized there was only one way to get out of this, a small, pink sphere formed in front of Not-Lola's mouth, which dissipated before she released a pink energy beam... Just as Lola kicked her mouth shut.

This caused the energy from the beam to build up in her mouth and eventually make her head explode, freeing Lola and sending her flying straight into a pile of rubble as Not-Lola's blood was splattered across the place, including Lola's face and dress. Of course, this sight shocked everyone-minus Leni and Lori-but specially Lindsey, who took a step back and promptly hit the ground in disbelief.

"Eugh! Her blood got in my dress!" the diva whined, taking out a handkerchief and using it to clean the blood. Somewhat. "This better be easy to wash away, otherwise, I'm going to be really mad!"

But as the girl tried in vain of saving her dress from looking awful, what happened next caught everybody's attention: Not-Lola's body continued to stand up, and soon enough, a couple of bone-like viscera slowly came out of the neck and morphed to turn into a skull, followed by the viscera forming the nerves all around it, followed by the skin covering the whole surface to fully recover Other Lola's head.

This was followed by her taking out her tiara out of nowhere and put it back on her head, making it look like nothing ever happened. Needless to say, Lola was mortified at this revelation.

"I have to give credit where credit's due, that was actually pretty clever," Other Lola said with pure honesty as she moved her head for a bit. Try to get it working 100% again, you know? "But you should know from the simple fact that you're me that I'm too stubborn to die that easily!"

Suddenly, a rock was thrown at Proto Lola's direction, and all the impostor diva had to do was aim her palm at the rock, and a pink shield made entirely of hexagons was summoned, not only blocking the rock, but also reflecting it back to the person who launched it. The person, of course, was Lindsey, who got an agonizing headache from the strike. Oh, and a bleeding forehead too.

"And I'm not going to lie, that was pathetic, and I've grown exasperated with her presence," Proto Lola charged an energy sphere. "So I'll just do what I always do when someone annoys me, let her be someone else's problem!"

Soon enough, the prototype diva shot the sphere to the ground underneath Lindsey, and it opened a pink portal that immediately sucked the redhead copycat inside. She instantly landed at the original reality, right at Proto Lynn's domain, where she was met with the proto-jock's malicious smirk.

"W-Who are you?!" Lindsey asked, slightly scared, slightly confused.

"Call me Lynn," the prototype jock cracked her knuckles. "Or, as you'll better know me soon enough, _your worst nightmare_."

 _Back with Lana..._

The discount plumber slowly recovered consciousness as she heard what sounded like terrified crying in... Wherever she was. She opened her eyes, but her vision was too blurry for her to see anything clearly. Once she rubbed them, though, she finally got to see she was in the middle of some dark blue void, filled with nothing but what seemed like an endless mob of floating... Ghost-like beings that looked oddly like her... And some of her sisters.

"What-What is this place?" was the only thing the tomboy could ask. And no matter where she looked, she failed to get an idea as to where she was taken. "Last thing I remember, someone who looked like me engulfed me with her tongue, so how did I end up in here?" and then she... basically "swam", since she couldn't fly, across the void and went to the nearest ghost figure she could find. "H-Hey, you, where am I?"

The figure turned around and revealed herself to be a ghostly Lana look alike, only this one looked slightly older, probably as old as Lynn. "You're in a living nightmare," the ghostly Lana answered.

Naturally, the discount plumber was startled when she saw the apparition. So much, in fact, that she crashed into some nearby pseudo-Lanas before she regained her composure. "Wait, a living nightmare?" "This doesn't look like a nightmare. Heck, it doesn't look like it's sentient at all."

"It's just a figure of speech, silly," the Older Lana apparition clarified, rolling her eyes at her counterpart's literal-mindedness. "It means that you're in a very bad situation; your doppelganger engulfed you, just as she did to us before. Now, you power her, just as we do, and it won't be long before you lose your physical body. Maybe one or two weeks."

"Well, there's my cue to get out of this place!" Lana stated before looking around the void. "How do I leave this place?"

"You can give her indigestion by attacking or otherwise grossing out her "stomach core", for lack of a better word, over there," Older Lana pointed at a large, frog-like organ connected to various veins and arteries, with a couple of ghostly Lanas close to it. "But it's so difficult to gross her out, what with her being us, that no matter what we do, she's not disgusted. And trust me, we've tried a lot of different methods."

Meanwhile, at the organ, a girly Lana-wearing a blue dress to stand out from the other Lanas-spoke. "And that's why I think pink is the best color ever!"

And much to her shock, the organ didn't even turn a little green. "Oh come on, that was so girly and obnoxiously cute, it must've at least made you a little sick!"

So, seeing no other option, Lana yelled "Lincoln! Lola! Help me!" at the top of her lungs, with all the other Lanas doing the same soon afterwards. Surprisingly, this actually did prove to be somewhat effective, since Proto-Lana had to stop her hopping around for a moment to clutch her stomach and groan in pain, right before she started punching it to calm down her intestinal prison.

"Hey, keep it quiet down there, would you? I'm trying to get to my sister here!" Proto-Lana growled before taking a look around. "And speaking of which, where is she?"

And then Lola flew past by and crashed into another tree, with Proto-Lola flying behind her. "Well, there's my answer," the prototype plumber scoffed right before she noticed the Loud sisters and Lincoln arriving at the scene. However, the only one who caught her attention was the boy, who was surprised to see her again. "Oh hey, Lincoln, fancy meeting you here, how have you been older bro?"

"What happened to you?!" he asked, checking out the prototype mud lover's mutated form. "Didn't you used to look more like Lana or something?"

"Oh yeah, Lana, I kinda ate her and absorbed her, and my form mutated to match," Proto-Lana casually answered before hopping to the double diva fight. "Anyway, I have to go help Lola beat up her copy. See ya."

By the time Proto-Lana reached Lola and Other Lola, the pageant diva was on the ground, bleeding from her nose and with a large number of bruises all over her body, while Proto Lola simply dusted herself, looking like nothing had hurt her at all. "About time you arrived, Lana," but when the prototype diva turned around, she was notably startled by her sister's mutation. "Oh wow, what happened to you? I thought you looked uglier before, but now you look like a weird version of ugly!"

"Glad to see you too, sis," Proto-Lana turned to the bruised diva and licked her lips. "So, do you need help dealing with your counterpart?"

"It's always good to double team someone, specially if they're too hopeless to do anything about it," Proto-Lola replied, before bowing down and flashing a smirk at her look alike. "So please, be my guest."

Before she realized what was going on, Lola was grabbed by Proto-Lana's tongue and then swung up high in the sky, with the prototype twins literally flying up to her height before basically playing volleyball using her as the ball. And as all of this happened, the sisters and Lincoln could only look in horror as they saw their sister being beaten up. Normally, seeing someone like Lola being beaten up should be satisfying, but there was no satisfaction right now, only worry.

"Why are we just standing here letting this happen?!" Lincoln asked, catching his sisters' attention. "Shouldn't we be doing something about it?"

"Lincoln, you know I, like, don't like to sound pessimistic, but name one thing we can do that can actually matter in this fight," Leni replied, looking back at the Lolaball game as she thought, " _And even if you managed to name such a thing, it's pretty much pointless; only Lola and Lana can seal their counterparts. So all we can really do at this point is hope that they manage to transform before it's too late. Otherwise..._ "

Back at the fight, Lola was grabbed by Proto-Lana's tongue and sent flying back to the ground, wherein the diva didn't even get the chance to stand up before her prototype counterpart elbowed her in the back hard enough to make her scream in pain. And with that done, Proto-Lola laughed out loud as Proto-Lana flew down and stood nearby, arms folded behind her back.

"How does it feel to be the helpless, powerless runt?!" Proto-Lola growled as she got up and put her foot on Lola's head. "It sucks, doesn't it? Well, guess what? Once we're done with you, your sisters are next. Specially your little twin sister."

It was in that moment, that Lola heard a familiar voice.

" _Lola!_ "

That was... Lana's voice.

" _Lana?!_ " Lola thought, looking around as she cried in worry. " _Lana, where are you?!_ "

" _I'm inside my rip-off's stomach!_ " the tomboy responded, causing Lola's eyes to go wide in horror. " _Long story: I found her in the sewers with another lady, my impostor summoned four awesome mutant frogs to fight the lady, and when I tried to stop her from escaping, she engulfed me! Now I'm stuck in what seems to be her stomach, and I can't get out!_ "

Lola narrowed her eyes. "So, let's not waste any more time here," Proto-Lola remarked as she got ready to crush Lola's head under her heel. "Do you have any last words you'd like to say? You only have one chance to say them, so pick carefully-"

"Leave her alone..."

The proto-twins frowned and flinched. "What?" the prototype diva asked, with slight hints of offense in her tone.

Lola turned around, revealing not only that her sclera was black, but that her pupils were pink, with a pair of pink tear tracks down her eyes. "Leave Lana alone!" she shouted to the heavens right before creating a pink aura strong enough to send her counterpart flying straight to her own sister, and then crashing right into a tree from the shockwave released when Lola basically powered up, her pink aura shining as pink electricity flew around it.

And once the prototype duo recovered consciousness, they were met with not only the sight of a furious Lola looking at them, but a vision of her looking the same, but with a pair of angelic diamond-shaped wings, and standing amongst a burning stage with a stern, deadpan look.

"Oh no, not again!" they yelled in unison.

Then, without warning, Lola flew straight to the duo and started to beat them up while her sisters-and Lincoln-stood agape at the sight. Most of them, anyway, Leni and Lori just smiled in approval and relief. "Lisa, c-can you tell us what's going on?" Lynn requested, staring at her equally flabbergasted scientist sister. "T-This just went from crazy to insane in a second, so please tell me, what is going on?!"

Lisa glanced at Lynn, who gave her a look that was basically pleading her to make sense out of the situation. And then she turned back to Lola's fight with the impostor twins, wherein she grabbed Other Lana's tongue and used it to throw her against Proto-Lola, and the fight continued as Lisa fell to her knees and said in disbelief:

"I'm just as lost as you are, Lynn."

And going by the look of pure shock Lynn gave the scientist, she wasn't alone in her disbelief. "Come on, don't tell me that you don't know anything about this!" the jock snarled, grabbing Lisa by the shirt and pulling her up. "You're Lisa Loud! Professional Know-It-All! You know about so many things, this shouldn't be-!"

"For crying out loud, Lynn!" Lisa growled before slapping the athlete, all while Luan chuckled at the unintentional pun. "I can only be a know-it-all when the thing I should know about makes sense! And believe it or not, a pair of doppelgangers of Lola and Lana, possessing some bizarre nonsense superhuman powers, and Lola become some sort of superhuman angel thing, doesn't! Make! Sense!"

"That doesn't mean you have to yell that at my face!" Lynn growled at the top of her lungs.

And of course, Lisa gave a quick comeback. "You're the one who asked me about something I had no way of knowing anything about, you freaking idiot!"

From the vein in her forehead to the fact she was baring her teeth, it was clear Lisa had upset the athlete. "Did you just call me an idiot?!"

"I might have, you idiot!" Lisa stomped the ground.

Then, before things could escalate, Leni and Lori separated Lisa and Lynn respectively, and held them tightly while the duo tried to free their grasp. "Hey, let us go!" Lynn demanded as she punched Lori's"I need to beat some sense and respect into that little brat!"

"The only thing you could beat into me is your disgusting breath!" Lisa snarled, before blowing a raspberry at Lynn.

"Like, stop fighting you two!" Leni shouted, trying her hardest to keep Lisa in her grasp.

"Yeah, we have to follow Lola and her fight with the impostor twins!" Lori growled before turning to her brother. "Lincoln, literally lead the way!"

The boy nodded, and everybody followed him as Lola and the impostor twins took their fight to the public park, where the park goers ran away screaming in fear as a hot pink aura pushed a blue aura through the location, with another hot pink aura following right behind them. The hot pink aura pushing the blue aura belonged to Lola, who constantly punched and kicked Proto-Lana's stomach while demanding her that she spat her sister out.

But then, the mutated discount plumber remembered something and took out her wrench from her back, which she morphed into a wrench-sword hybrid just as Lola charged a punch. Then, she swiftly dodged the charged punch and swung her wrench-sword at the empowered diva, who simply grabbed it and then threw the mutated mud lover at her own sister just as the Louds arrived to see the scene.

However, she got the last laugh, since she threw the wrench-sword just as the impostor twins crashed, which successfully pierced Lola's leg. With the sharp pain rising in her leg, the diva screamed in pain as her aura dissipated and she hit the ground, with Lana hearing the shriek soon afterwards. And as if that wasn't enough, the alternate twins soon recovered their composure, flew to her and laughed as Proto-Lana quickly took out her wrench-sword.

"Alright, step aside, sis," Other Lana requested as Proto-Lola flew to the sidelines and the mutated discount plumber raised her wrench-sword. "I'll be the one to take her-"

But then, she felt a sharp pain her gut as her stomach started to bulge, with the bulge having the shape of Lana. And it didn't end there, since the bulge gained a dark blue aura as the girl sternly proclaimed:

"Stay away from my sister!"

Shortly afterwards, Lana literally burst out of Proto-Lana's stomach, leaving behind a Lana-shaped hole as her counterpart glowed and turned back into her base form. And as she caught her breath and the hole in her stomach healed in the same process as her sister-but slightly faster and without healing the clothes-the duo got a nasty surprise when Lana revealed she had also reached a similar form as Lola: dark sclera, blue eyes, and blue tear tracks going down her eyes.

Fortunately, though, Lana didn't attack them right away. Instead, she flew to Lola and held her bridal style, right before she went to her leg and licked it, grossing out her siblings and shocking the proto-twins. What was even more shocking is that once Lana stopped doing her weird stuff, Lola's leg quickly healed and closed the wound until it felt like it had never been pierced.

"There you go, sis," Lana put Lola on the ground and brushed her hair. "Back to normal."

And of course, Lola responded in the only way she saw appropriate: a punch to the face. "Why didn't you tell me you could do that before licking me, you jerk!?" the diva hissed as Lana laughed.

"Well, one of my copycats inside my rip-off's stomach told me I could do that, but I had nobody to test it in there," the empowered plumber answered, rubbing her nose. "So, I figured that, since you'd be injured, I could try and heal you up, right?"

Lola didn't know how to take this: Either Lana was lazily trying to justify what she just did, or what she said really did happen. Either way, Lola had no time to deal with it. "Anyway, I'm glad you got out of there. I sure hope you're okay, 'cause we got a pair of impostors to beat up."

"Oh, trust me," Lana turned to the impostors and cracked her knuckles. "I'm more than ready!"

And with that, the duo flew straight for their counterparts... Only for Other Lola to repeat her "Diamond Flash!" move, temporarily blinding with an intense light and giving the impostor twins the chance to fly up high enough to give them a chance to breath.

"Great, not only did we fail to get rid of my counterpart, but now we have both counterparts transformed and after us!" Proto-Lola growled, grabbing and pulling her hair in frustration. And then she turned to her sister. "What do we do now?!"

"Why are you asking me?! Lisa's the smart one, I'm the brute force, and you..." Proto-Lana hesitated as her twin sister took the chance to pose, blow kisses and wink at her, apparently trying to give her hints as to what she should say.

However, the prototype plumber just smirked and finished with, "You're just here."

The prototype diva shot a glare and the normal twins soon regained their sight and managed to spot the pair.

"Alright, they haven't left yet!" Lana exclaimed as she got ready to fly to the duo. "Okay, Lola, here's what we're going to do: We fly to them, you repeat your counterparts flash move, then we smack our counterparts and start beating the snot out of them; you beat your counterpart while I beat mine, got that?"

"Why do you get to attack your own counterpart? I want to attack her too!" Lola whined in return.

Lana rolled her eyes. "Because I need to get some payback for her engulfing me and leaving me disturbed by what I saw!"

"You don't look like you were disturbed or something-"

"I was stuck in a large, featureless blue void surrounded by hundreds of people who looked like me!"

"Show me instead of telling me about it-"

"How am I supposed to show that?!"

And as the twins started to engage in one of their common fights, surprising absolutely nobody, the prototype twins soon noticed the fight and looked at their counterparts with smug contempt, though there was also a hint of pity in their looks.

"Look at those silly morons, fighting each other while they have an important enemy, us, to deal with," Other Lola smugly remarked as she opened a miniature portal and stuck her hand in it, while Other Lana gave her a confused look. "Let's show them the true power of twin symmetry!"

Soon afterwards, Proto Lola took out a pair of orange earrings and chuckled as she took off her right earring, and Proto Lana smiled, now realizing what her sister's plan was. The prototype plumber grabbed one of the earrings, and put it on her left ear, while Proto Lola put on the remaining orange earring on her right ear. Then, the earrings flashed orange before the impostor pair were seemingly forcefully shoved together, causing them to be enveloped in a large orange sphere that released a light so intense, everybody had to cover their eyes.

Fortunately, this did bring the twins back to reality, though it probably would've been more useful if it had done so before the apparent fusion. "Ugh, dang it! They did something while we were bickering!" Lola exclaimed, and once she got a closer look at what seemed like a taller, single person, she reached a horrible conclusion. "W-Wait... A-Are they fusing together?!"

Once the light dispersed, however, it was revealed Proto Lana was on top of Proto Lola's shoulder, and the duo were sticking out their tongues and flipping the birds at everybody. And as they separated and laughed out loud, everybody could only look in disbelief, or in Lana and Lola's case, offense.

"The only thing worst than a potential fusion, is a potential fusion that turns out to be a cop-out!" Lana exclaimed, stomping the ground in annoyance.

" _Well, at least they're still two people, rather than one, far stronger person,_ " Lincoln thought with a look of disbelief.

"Well, that was a little fun distraction," Proto Lola remarked as she and her sister stopped laughing. Then she charged and aimed a pink energy sphere at the neo-twins. "Now's the time to show you the actual power of perfect symmetry, and the true strength of twins who never fight each other!"

"What are you blabbering about?" Other Lana questioned, catching her twin sister's attention and causing her to cancel her energy attack. "Of course we fight each other! We're siblings! It would be weirder if we didn't fight!"

"Well, yeah, I guess you can say that," the prototype diva replied. "B-But we get along better, and we don't fight nearly as often as they do!"

"No, we do fight as often as they do."

Proto-Lola forced a smile. "No, we don't,"

But Proto-Lana quickly saw through it and gave her sister a stern look. "Yes, we do,"

Then Proto-Lola leaned closer to her sister. "No, we don't!"

Followed by Proto-Lana doing the same. "Yes, we do!"

And as the impostor pair continued to shout their beliefs, their auras returned, but now with the shape of a peacock for Proto-Lola and a frog for Proto-Lana. Shortly afterwards, the discount plumber pushed the prototype diva to the side, and the spoiled brat soon returned the favor, causing the duo to fight each other as Lana and Lola stood their ground and the auras fought each other.

As this happened, Lana looked at her right palm and saw it had a blue L-shaped letter in it. "Lola, look at your palm! Either palm!" Lana ordered, and miraculously, Lola obliged and saw she had the same L letter on her left palm. "Do you have the same idea as I do?"

After remaining silent for a moment, Lola nodded, and the pair soon afterwards flew towards the prototype pair as their fight reached a screeching halt. "Wait a minute, what are we doing?!" Proto-Lana asked as she and her sister separated. "We're supposed to be fighting our counterparts, not each other!"

Coincidentally, they noticed the twins flying straight for them at this moment, and prepared to counterattack just as Lola and Lana formed a diamond with their arms and shouted "Diamond Flash!" in unison, unleashing a light that blinded the prototype duo successfully.

"Isn't that your own technique?!" Proto-Lana asked in disbelief.

"I knew I should have copyrighted it!" the prototype diva shouted, right before the duo opened their eyes only to see their counterparts had vanished. "Huh? Where did they go?!"

Suddenly, Lola and Lana teleported behind their respective impostors and aimed their L-printed palms at them just as the duo turned around and noticed what was going on.

"Twin Sealer Beam!"

With that said, the twins unleashed a pair of energy beams, one blue and one pink, that completely engulfed the impostors. However, instead of just disintegrating them into nothing, the pair were actually restrained with multiple chains right before they were basically evaporated, leaving nothing but ashes and their duo's respective items, the tiara and the wrench, once the twins' beams dissipated.

Their family cheered, but the twins were left too astonished by what they just did to really hear them, although they did manage to grab the items before they fell. They then looked at the items in contemplation, at least until Lincoln asked out loud:

"Hey! How are you flying!?"

In an instant, the twins exchanged baffled looks before they were sent plummeting to the ground, with their fall only being averted once Lori and Leni caught them in their arms, Lori catching Lola while Leni caught Lana. With that done, the twins returned to their base forms and were surrounded by their family.

"Good work, you two," Leni complimented, kissing the twins' forehead. "I'm, like, so glad you were able to deal with those girls on your own."

"Yeah, we're glad too, I guess," Lana replied with a shrug.

"But there's so much we need to ask right now," Lola added, grabbing her head. "What happened to us?! Who were those girls?! What did the L letters on our palms let us shoot some freaking energy beam?!"

Leni didn't respond right away. She glanced at Lori, who shook her head to tell her to keep quiet, then felt Proto-Lori's influence hurting her, yet another sign for her to keep quiet. However, once the pain went away, she took a deep breath and answered:

"Listen, there's clearly a lot of things that need to be explain, but those answers, and the road we'll need to take to find them, will be left for another day..."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Lynn promptly snatch the control remote and turned the TV on... Where it was currently on the news channel.

"Earlier today, various people were shocked to find out that not only were there one but two mysterious events happening today at the city of Royal Woods, Michigan. The first concerned a pair of seemingly superhuman girls fighting each other, while the second event consisted of four superhuman-like girls, where two of the girls looked like impostors of the other two."

"Bleh, the news channel, who would actually want to watch this stuff?" Lynn asked before changing the channel to an anime show. "This is the channel you got to go to if you want to see anime: Animani!"

"Lynn, you blabbering oxymoron without the oxy, why did you do that?!" Lisa spat, weakly slapping Lynn's arm.

"Hey, you wanted to know what anime was, so I showed you the anime channel," Lynn explained, who wasn't being hurt at all by her younger sister's attacks. "Besides, why would you want to watch the news channel? I mean, it's the news channel!"

"Well, first of all, they were currently talking about the battles that just happened not long ago!" the genius hissed, slapping Lynn's cheek.


	13. Twin Aftermath

**And with this chapter, the "Proto-Twins" arc comes to a close. I know, very short arc, but it's the best case scenario given how some arcs in Anime (Specially of those like Bleach, One Piece and Dragon Ball Z) tend to take _months_ to finish, if not _years_! Besides, next arcs will be longer, I promise.**

 **For now, let's try to take a breather, okay?**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lola and Lana fought against their impostor copycats and in the process, they unlocked a mysterious power within themselves, which allowed them to seal their counterparts once more.**

 **But not everything was right, since Lindsey Sweetwater wound up annoying Proto Lola, which got her sent to Proto Lynn's domain, and land straight under her feet. Then again, you can't really say anything of value was lost. Anyway, the Louds now head home, believing they should call all this crazy events enough for the day.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Proto-Twins Defeated! The Relaxing Aftermath!**

* * *

 _Meanwhile, back at the sewers..._

Carol caught her breath as she saw the mutated frogs frozen in place, spazzing a little before they vanished from existence. The teenager held her right arm as she fell to her knees, her left sleeve practically torn apart while her stockings, skirt and hair were a frenzied mess.

"Looks like the kid managed to take care of her prototype counterpart," Carol thought as she regained enough of her strength to get up, climb up and the stairs and leave the sewer, which turned back to normal once she got out. "I should better go ahead and go check up the Louds, or at least Lola and Lana, they got to be exhausted after such a battle."

Carol put the tip of her fingers on her forehead, and she felt the aura of Lola and Lana, as well as their other siblings, walking home nearby. So she followed the signal as fast as she could, and eventually met with the Louds. And while almost everybody was surprised to see the teenager, Lana was happy, and Lori was absolutely livid.

"Hi, Carol!" Lana greeted, waving her arm tiredly. "Did you manage to defeat the four mutated frog weirdos?"

"I honestly wish she was just saying this out of a result of fatigue, but that would probably be worse than if she was hallucinating," Lisa remarked before she adjusted her glasses. "Anyway, how does my older sister unit know who you are, stranger?"

"Guys, this is Carol Pingrey, one of Lori's classmates," Lincoln said, while Carol waved hello. "I once called her to try and convince Lori to participate in my family picture for mom and dad-"

Suddenly, Lori bared her teeth against Lincoln and growled like a rabid dog. "I don't think it was, like, a good idea to say that nearby Lori, Lincoln," Leni whispered to the boy as Lori walked forward to deal with Carol.

Naturally, Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Leni, I definitely couldn't have used that advice earlier."

"Listen up, I don't know how Lana got to meet you, nor what happened that caused this whole mess to start, but I don't want you to bother my sister again!" the phone-a-holic teenager sternly hissed, with Carol taking a step back and actually looking hurt at the words. "You can return later this night, if you want to discuss some stuff with me and Leni, but I don't want you to come near Lana again!"

"But Lori, Carol is a good person!" Lana whined. "And she's cool too! She's a sewer inspector!"

"You went with a random stranger into a mutated sewer! And that somehow led you to being eaten and trapped in your copycat's stomach! Do you really expect me to let you hang out with her any further?!" Lori snapped at Lana. "Unless you manage to convince me that this... Copycat, really is someone I can trust, then I don't want you to hang out with her anymore."

Then she turned to her siblings. "As for the rest of you, follow me! We're going back home right now!"

With that said, everybody followed Lori to their loud household, while Lana looked at Carol with sadness as the teenager walked away. As for the teenager, she looked at the ground as she walked back home.

"Well, that wasn't the best way to meet the Louds," Carol remarked as she put her hands on her pockets. "What do I do now?"

Suddenly, her eyes' sclera turned light blue on the right and seafoam green on the left, just before a Leni-like voice spoke to her. "Carol! We have a new mission for you! We saw how you dealt with the four cardinal frogs and how Hayyel was absorbed by Lana, so, now we want you to bond with Hayyel until she and Jophiel are separated!"

"You mean Lana and her twin?!" Carol asked in worry. "But, L-Lori doesn't want me anywhere near her! Besides, while I do like her, I don't want to put her at risk! Why do I have to bond with her of all people

"You need to bond with Hayyel so that when the time comes, Jophiel can finally be taken out and one of our inferior sisters can be freed!" the Lori-like voice demanded. "But for now, you may return home and rest. It will be a while before you get to be of us again, after all."

Both offended and understanding, Carol nodded and the voices vanished as the teenager-with her eyes back to normal-continued to walk home. Then, she stopped right on her tracks and remembered something:

"Wait, my house is the other direction!"

So Carol slapped herself, and flew back home to avoid coming into contact with the Louds.

 _Later, at night..._

The Louds reached their house and went inside to find it the same way they left it: Kind of a mess, but not an utterly hopeless-to-clean mess. Also, Lola and Lana were snoring on the eldest Louds' arms.

"Aw, look at them, Lori," Leni remarked, brushing Lana's hair. "They're like little angels."

"The battle must've left them exhausted," Lori said as she headed to the staircase.

Suddenly, Lola woke up and blurted, "Not really, we just grew so bored with the tripe we decided to take a snooze," before falling asleep once more.

Lori chuckled. "Let's take them to their room before we do anything else."

Leni nodded and followed her older sister as the remaining Louds settled down; Luan went to the kitchen to make something to eat, Lincoln and Lucy went upstairs and Lynn and Lisa sat down at the couch and watched some TV. Whatever weirdness they were going to find there, it wouldn't be quite as weird as what they just witnessed.

"Well, that was definitely something to think about for the next couple of days, some thoughts being more terrifying than others," Lynn remarked, rubbing her forehead. "But seriously though, why did it feel so much like an anime just now?"

Lisa, instead of answering right away, gave her older sister a look and asked, "Ani-what now?"

Lynn, in return, gave Lisa a look of disbelief, then slowly leaned closer to her until they were face-to-face. "You don't know what anime is?!"

"Well, that's the only logical conclusion you can get from the fact I literally just asked you what it was," the scientist replied, rolling her eyes. "And again I must ask, what is anime?"

The jock leaned back and took a long, deep breath before giving the scientist her answer; "Anime is basically the Japanese equivalent of cartoons, only they're a bit more stiff, realistic in hand proportions and ridiculous and outlandish. Basically, what happened with Lola, Lana, and their counterparts, but with more filler."

"I think I need to see this "anime" thing you're talking about for myself," Lisa remarked, adjusting her glasses by the side. "Where do I see it?"

Lynn promptly snatch the control remote and turned the TV on... Where it was currently on the news channel.

"Earlier today, various people were shocked to find out that not only were there one but two mysterious events happening today at the city of Royal Woods, Michigan. The first concerned a pair of seemingly superhuman girls fighting each other, while the second event consisted of four superhuman-like girls, where two of the girls looked like impostors of the other two."

"Bleh, the news channel, who would actually want to watch this stuff?" Lynn asked before changing the channel to an anime show. "This is the channel you gotta go to if you wanna see anime: Animani!"

"Lynn, you blabbering oxymoron without the oxy, why did you do that?!" Lisa spat, weakly slapping Lynn's arm.

"Hey, you wanted to know what anime was, so I showed you the anime channel," Lynn explained, who wasn't being hurt at all by her younger sister's attacks. "Besides, why would you want to watch the news channel? I mean, it's the news channel!"

"Well, first of all, they were currently talking about the battles that just happened not long ago!" the genius hissed, slapping Lynn's cheek.

Again, she didn't seem to feel anything. "And second of all, this channel is a thing? Since when?!"

"Since the time the house was almost attacked by a tornado, or around that time anyway," the jock explained, placing her arms behind her head. "All I know is that, when I checked this channel after that fiasco, the channel was now this instead of something called... I don't even remember the name of the old channel anymore."

"Well, whatever it is, put it back on the news channel!" Lisa requested, earning her a baffled look from her sister. "Listen, I know the news channel isn't the most exciting or pleasant thing ever, it is the news channel after all, but if there are news about our sisters, we need to follow as many news as possible, so please, put back the news channel!"

And as the athlete and scientist got on an argument about what channel to watch, Lincoln got ready to read his comics when Lucy entered his room. "Uh, Lincoln?" the goth asked, and miraculously enough, the boy didn't freak out right then and there. "C-Can I ask for your help with something?"

"Well, on the one hand, your stuttering seems to suggest it's something very important and personal, so I should at least try to help you," the boy argued, scratching his chin. "On the other hand, I don't think I can help you with poetry after what just happened not long ago-"

"No, it's not something related to poetry. At least, not in a major way," the goth replied, twiddling her fingers. "Listen, remember the problem I asked you to help me with earlier? It's about my friend, Haiku, and some girl named Maggie-"

Lincoln felt a chill go up his spine. "Uh, was this Maggie some sort of emo-goth person?"

"I believe so, though she seems to be more around the emo side," Lucy answered with a shrug, "Why?"

"Ugh, so that's why I felt the chill," the boy shivered before calming down. "I kinda dealt with her before, during her birthday party, which Luan managed to save when she didn't like my pratfalls. But anyway, what does she have to do with anything?"

"She saw my dark, depressing poetry, and said that it was good... And then Haiku said otherwise, and things escalated until they told me I had 4 days to decide who "I have to decide tomorrow, at least until Maggie shortened it to I don't know when, but thing is, I just can't choose between the two! And Clyde hasn't called back yet, so I have no idea if he managed to help me or not! And I most definitely can't go back to the vents, my booty feels more and more stiff the longer I stay in there! As if that wasn't enough, I'm supposed to call Maggie to know why she shortened the length!"

"Okay, geez, calm down!" Lincoln said, grabbing Lucy's shoulders and giving her a firm look. "Panicking won't help anybody. Listen, you've known Haiku for a while now, don't you? Then you know her well enough to know if she would be a good poetry teacher for you, right?"

"I guess, but she wants me to focus on things that aren't sad or depressing," Lucy replied, scratching the back of her head. "I mean, I can do that, but I'm simply not good at them. Besides, she's a good teacher, but she's also very firm and stern. Maggie would probably go easier on me-"

"But she might not be the best teacher?" Lincoln finished, raising an eyebrow.

Lucy remained silent. "Listen, Lucy, this has to be your own choice, only _you_ can decide who to pick, and only your legitimate choice will bring out the best outcome for you," Lincoln replied, before getting an idea. "But, if you want, we could discuss the best possibility at night, and you can even sleep with me if you feel sleeping alone wouldn't help you at all. Or you could also discuss it with Luna, or Luan, or somebody else."

The goth immediately cheered up and flashed a smile before giving her brother a big, tight hug. "Thanks, Lincoln! You're a life saver!" Lucy exclaimed before releasing her brother. "I'll go get my stuff! Oh, and my phone too, I need to talk with Maggie."

The girl left the room and Lincoln took the chance to lay on his bed and relax... While Maggie was looking out the window. However, just as he noticed this, the teenager disappeared. "Huh, that's... Actually kinda mundane compared to Lola and Lana's fight," the boy nonchalantly remarked.

And then his phone rang, and once he took it out, he saw it was a message from Ronnie Anne:

" _Yo, Lame-O, it's me, Ronnie Anne. Listen, remember the whole deal with Polly Pain and Lynn? Yeah, she got Lynn's message, and she was left pretty messed up over it. And who can blame her? I'd be like that too if somebody sent me a message as intense as Lynn's. Tabby called over Luan's friend Giggles to help, but this wasn't enough, so now I'm going to do a sleepover with all of her friends: Tabby, Giggles, and someone named Haiku. Also, my brother has been calling your sister, but she hasn't responded. Do you know anything about this?_ "

Lincoln scratched his chin, having never heard of this, but also never having seen Lori on her phone since the beauty pageant. So, his curiosity was peaked.

" _I guess it wouldn't hurt if we spoke about it a bit more, what else do you know?_ " Lincoln typed.

And as the pre-teen did his best Lori impression and typed a reply, the emo teenager jumped off the window and dusted herself. "Well, looks like I'll have to try another day-"

And then, she heard someone cough nearby, which turned out to be Haiku, with her arms crossed and shooting an angry glare at Maggie's direction. However, she wasn't really intimidated by the glare. In fact, she seemed outright annoyed.

"Well, look who we have here," Maggie mockingly remarked, rolling her eyes. "What are you doing outside Lucy's house, goth gal?"

"I could ask you the same thing!" Haiku sternly spat back. Sadly, this didn't even make Maggie flinch. "In a couple days, Lucy will choose her poetry teacher. We need to go back home and rest until-"

"Hehehe, you really think Lucy has that much time left? I changed the date of the decision, you moron," Maggie sternly revealed, causing Haiku to gasp and take a step back in disbelief. "Now, instead of having a couple days to make her decision, Lucy must do it tomorrow."

"W-What?!" Haiku exclaimed, only for her rising disbelief to turn into anger. "H-How could you! We agreed that she had at least 4 days before she needed to make a choice!"

"Yeah, but I never said we had to play fair, and I plan to make sure I get her to pick me above everybody else, including you," the goth replied, crouching down and grabbing Haiku's chin as the emo gave her a defiant glare. "I mean, listen, it can get tiresome to see the same bland sort of sadness and depression in the average emo teenager. But Lucy's a fresh brand of pessimism. A brand I haven't seen since _I_ was a little kid."

Then, Maggie turned around and looked at the ground in disappointment. "Since the time her sister hurt and betrayed me..."

Unfortunately, Haiku's sustained scowl showed she wasn't gathering any sympathy for the emo whatsoever. And she only grew angrier as Maggie turned back to her and added, "Anyhow, point is, I need to hang out more with her, to enjoy her sadness at its finest-"

"Lucy doesn't need to be sad! She needs to cheer up!" Haiku spat, slapping Maggie as she freed herself from her grasp. This time, Maggie did seem surprised at what Haiku did. "I mean, for crying out loud, she's just 8 and she already acts like a nihilistic, depressed teenager! That's not how anybody should be! That's not..."

Haiku took a step back and flinched as Maggie turned to her, grabbing her slapped cheek while maintaining a firm glare at the emo. "That's not what she deserves! It's not what anybody deserves!"

And then Maggie approached the goth, who could only back away until she hit the tree. "She deserves to be happy! T-That's what she deserves, and it's something she has to choose herself!"

However, once the emo had cornered the frightened gothic poet, she simply smirked, crouched down to her level and whispered on her ear, "That will be for her to decide tomorrow," and cue the bombshell: "And if you play your cards even a little wrong, if you make even one little mistake, if you fail to convince your friend that that's really the best for her... I win. You lose. The Louds never get to hurt me a third, and final, time."

With that said and done, Maggie got up and took out her phone moments before it rang. "Now, if you excuse me, Lucy and I have a lot to talk about."

Maggie walked back home while speaking with Lucy on her phone, and speaking of phones, Haiku's own phone rang and she took it out, only to see it was a message from Tabby:

" _Yo, dude, where are you? We can't start this thing without you!_ "

It was in that moment that Haiku finally remembered that she needed to be there for the event. Lucy was important to her, and she definitely wished to help her, but given what she read and heard from Tabby, Polly desperately needed as much as help she she could.

Specially if she was hanging out with an "ex-bully" like Ronnie Anne!

" _Lucy will have to wait,_ " Haiku mentally told herself, " _For now, I need to be there for Polly!_ "

And so, she wrote a response as she ran as fast as she could to the Santiago household:

" _Guys, give me directions, I'm coming as fast as I can!_ "

 _Meanwhile, at the Santiago household..._

Giggles, Tabby, Polly, and Ronnie were setting up the sleepover party just as Giggles received the message, then wrote the directions in her reply. While that happened, Ronnie took the chance to walk to Polly and asked, "So, when are you going to teach me how to roller skate?"

"Uh, excuse me?" Polly asked in return, raising an eyebrow.

"Remember, we made a deal: You taught me all you knew about roller skating so that I could become a member of Polly's roller derby team, and help you two get some help with your relationship," the Hispanic tomboy explained, before her tone gained a hint of anger as she continued. "Them Lynn's asinine response happened, and we never really decided on anything."

But the roller skater hesitated and remained silent.

"Come on, Polly, a simple "later", or "tomorrow" or even "when I feel better" is going to suffice, but you need to give me an answer!" Ronnie said, trying to maintain her smile. "I mean, you can't just ask me to potentially learn new things under your wing, then suddenly drop it as if you suggested them in the first place-"

"Ronnie, look, I could give you an aswer now, but I want to have a decent mental idea of what I need to do and when do we need to train before I give you an answer," Polly answered with a forlorn look. "So please, at least wait until after the sleepover's done before you ask me that."

"Oh, right, s-sorry," Ronnie looked away. "I-I didn't want to upset you."

Polly looked at the saddened Ronnie, then got an idea. "You know what? A simple apology isn't enough!" Polly smiled as she brushed Ronnie's hair. "For upsetting me, I'm thoroughly going to destroy you in a pillow fight!"

"Don't you go thinking you can defeat me that easily!" Ronnie answered, before grabbing a pillow and gently smacking Polly with it.

Tabby and Giggles turned to look at Ronnie, who flinched and tried to think of what to do before Polly grabbed her pillow and struck back. Tabby and Giggles quickly grabbed their pillows and the four girls started to engage in a pillow fight, just as Haiku arrived and opened the door.

"Okay, girls, sorry I was a bit la-" Haiku said, before a thrown pillow smacked her right in the face.

The quartet stopped fighting and watched as Haiku grabbed the object, put on a smile, and joined the five-person pillow war, the five girls laughing as they continued the fight.

 _Back at the Loud house, at the twins' bedroom..._

Lola and Lana sat on their beds and looked at their counterparts' items, the tiara and the wrench, with looks of both suspicion and curiosity. Just how important were these things, really? Were they even magical in nature, or just some sort of decorative bragging right? Actually, the tiara would probably fit that description best...

"So, this is the wrench that Lincoln gave my counterpart," Lana remarked, before swinging the wrench around. "According to what he said, it's supposed to turn into a sword or something."

Lola, however, just wordless put on her tiara and tried to sleep, and without warning, she got a vision...

 _Lola's vision..._

Lola, without any conscious choice, was sitting on a bench, sadly eating a piece of sweet bread. She continued to do this just before somebody arrived, that being Lincoln, who sat next to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

" _Okay, this barely just started and I'm both already lost, and scared,_ " Lola thought, for she couldn't really speak at the moment.

"Hi, Lola," the boy greeted, catching the girl's attention. "What's wrong?"

" _Well, I can't speak, which considering my marvelous voice, is an utter nightmare,_ " Lola thought, while her "body" just looked at the ground in contemplation.

"Lincoln, before I tell you anything..." Not-Lola took a deep breath. "Can you promise me something?"

"Sure, what is it?" the boy answered with a calm tone.

Then, Not-Lola raised her hand and lifted her pinky finger.

"Will you be by my side? And, could you love me like a sister, in both the good and the bad times?"

" _You better promise, or else I'll-_ "

"Sure, I can promise that."

" _Huh, that was easier than I thought._ "

"But only on one condition: In return, you'll start acting less like a brat and actually do a conscious effort to become a better person," Lincoln lifted his pinky finger. "Can you promise that to me?"

" _Lincoln, don't be such an overbearing jerk!_ " Lola mentally groaned. " _Just promise this to me and-_ "

Not-Lola smiled.

"Yeah..."

" _What?!_ "

And they intertwined their pinkies as the vision started to fade.

 _Back at the bedroom..._

Lola gasped and dropped the tiara, earning a surprised look from her twin sister as she caught her breath and clutched her chest. And as she slowly calmed down, Lola glanced at the tiara, then at Lana and her wrench, and got an idea.

"Lana, quick!" the diva barked. "Sleep with that thing!"

"Why-?"

"Just do it!"

Lana, not really knowing whether she could get away with disobeying her younger sister and living to tell the tale, promptly slept while gripping the wrench... And she also got a vision...

 _Lana's vision..._

The kid plumber was seemingly building something, though it was clear from a distance that she was actually in her counterpart's body. A closer look, however, revealed her counterpart was building a baby crib, while she was in the middle of what looked like Lisa and Lily's bedroom.

"Of all the people they could get to build a crib for Lori's child, did they really have to pick me?" Not-Lana complained, rolling her eyes.

" _Lori had a child?!_ " Lana thought in disbelief.

Then, after some more building, she said, "I guess I can't complain too much, everybody else is too busy after all," then she groaned. "But still, I wouldn't mind a little extra help."

And then, just as she continued to work on the crib, she was joined by an unexpected arrival: Proto Leni, who immediately went to her sister's side and, exchanging pleased smiles, the two worked on the crib as the vision faded...

 _Back at the bedroom..._

"What was that all about?!" was Lana's first words once she returned to the real world. "First, I was in my doppelganger's body, and just as someone who looks like Leni arrives, I'm right back here!"

"See?! For some reason, that object gave you some sort of vision when you went to sleep with it!" Lola exclaimed. "And the same thing happened with the tiara! Do you think-"

"Okay, let me suggest something: How about we go to sleep, without the wrench or tiara, and leave figuring out whatever those visions mean for tomorrow?" Lana hastily suggested.

After thinking about it for a moment, Lola bluntly answered, "I agree."

"Don't go around saying-wait, wha?"

"Lana, I can't even come close to processing what just happened today, and I'd rather not waste time I could spend on my beauty sleep, figuring out what the visions we saw mean," Lola yawned. "So let's just hit the hay and call it a day."

The diva promptly put the tiara on her desk nearby, and Lana did the same with the wrench before the duo immediately went to sleep.

 _Meanwhile, at the "Original Reality"..._

Lori and Leni flew into the section of the dimension that belonged to ProtoLana and ProtoLola, where the duo were trying to free their tightened pink wrapping and chains. "Yep, looks like everything's fine over here," Lori remarked, folding her arms. "Come on, let's see if our counterparts have found out about what happened yet."

Leni nodded and the duo flew to their counterparts' location, wherein it didn't take long for the prototypes to reveal themselves. "So, we meet once more," ProtoLori said in a tone implying she wasn't surprised.

"Listen, there's something we, like, have to tell you-" Leni started.

"Lola and Lana were defeated and their counterparts unlocked their pseudo warden forms, not to mention Luna gained access to her Dumah form once more," ProtoLeni summarized, catching off-guard the pair. "Yes, we know, Lisa told us about it."

"Gosh dang it, I forgot that Lisa monitors everything!" Lori said as she slapped herself.

"Well, two of your sisters have been defeated," Leni remarked. "Who are you going to send this time?"

"That's not something we can discuss openly with you," ProtoLori replied, narrowing her eyes. "However, you can expect her to be ready by tomorrow. So, try to get some of your sisters ready by then. 'Cause the next one isn't known for being merciful."

"Also, before you go, can you do us a favor?" ProtoLeni asked, earning a nod from the duo. "Could you go check up on Luna? Poor girl has been singing for a while, and she desperately needs someone to comfort her."

"Yeah, sure, we'll go see what's up with her," Lori replied, rolling her eyes.

And so, the duo flew onto the section of the reality that belonged to ProtoLuna. However, instead of hearing punk or metal music or anything that they'd expect from the prototype rocker, they instead heard music that sounded both somber and depressed, but with a slight hint of hope. And alongside the music sung a heartbroken voice:

" _Maybe there's... a God above..._ "

Lori and Leni could immediately tell the voice belonged to ProtoLuna, and it wasn't long before they spotted her on a single platform, sitting on her knees and looking at something as she strung her guitar. And as they flew to her, she continued her song.

" _But all I've ever... learned from love..._ "

Once they reached the platform, the duo walked to ProtoLuna and checked what she was looking at... Which was basically an altar in Lincoln's name: the base was a small orange chair he used to sit on, with his picture laying on it, and surrounded by an Ace Savvy comic, and... Bun-Bun.

" _Was how... to shoot somebody... who outdrew you..._ "

Lori looked at her arms and then hid them behind her back just as Leni turned to look at her with worry. The elder sister, however, couldn't do anything but frown and turn away from the sight. Specially given that Luna slowly begun to sound more and more... shaky.

" _And it's not... a cry that... you hear at... night..._ "

And as her voice shook even more, she started to play the incorrect tunes on her guitar, not to mention she was starting to play it badly in general.

" _It's not... somebody who's... seen the light..._ "

She dropped the guitar, and only managed to hold herself in place by looking firmly at the picture. Not that this helped much.

" _It's a cold... and it's a... broken... Hallelujah..._ "

Finally, she paused, and amongst the silence surrounding the area, the prototype rocker crawled closer to the picture, grabbed it and gave it a longing look as some tears fell into it. With that done, she hugged the picture and hit the ground as she finised the song:

" _Hallelujah... Halle... lujah... Ha... lle... lujah... Ha... lle... lu... jah..._ "

Once the song was over, Lori and Leni exchanged looks before approaching Other Luna and crouching down to her. From this point on, it didn't take long before the prototype rockstar noticed the pair giving her not only reassuring looks, but rubbed her hair and back in an effort to comfort her. It didn't do much, of course, but going by her smile, this Luna certainly appreciated the effort.

Specially in Leni's part, since the rocker not only looked at her, with grabbed her hand. "Will I ever see him again?" ProtoLuna asked, tightening her grip on Leni's hand. "In blood and flesh, and not just in imagery?"

"You will, I promise," the teenager answered, forcing a reassuring smile. "You just... Need to wait a bit more..."

And with that said, Lori and Leni hugged ProtoLuna, who closed her eyes and returned the hug soon afterwards. And then Proto-Luna asked:

"So, are sister Lana and sister Lola in here?"

"Yeah, they just arrived," Leni answered.

Without warning, Proto Luna stood up and pushed Lori and Leni away, her absolute despair having been replaced with joyful delight. "Finally! Now we can begin the sermon!" the rocker walked to the edge of her platform, then turned around just before she slid into the abyss. "Nothing cheers me up like praising our lord and savior Lincoln! Well, gotta get prepared for it! Cheerio!"

Proto Luna teleported out of her domain while Lori and Leni got up, dusted themselves and took a deep breath. "For a moment, I legitimately forgot she had lost the most screw of all the prototype versions of our sisters," Lori remarked, folding her arms.

"Yeah, and she's also the craziest of the bunch," Leni added, earning an "are you serious?" look from her sister. "What?"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

The boy was getting ready to go to sleep, right when Luna barged into his room. "Well, I've gotten used to my sister barging in, so I'll let this one pass, but please, next time, at least knock the door," Lincoln told the rockstar as she wobbled to his desk, where she gripped the table and nodded. "Is something wrong, Luna?"

"Well, earlier this morning, Lori gave me quite the spanking in my butt," the rockstar answered before showing her backside to her brother, which was glowing red. "Now it's all red, and glowing, and stuff! I need a butt saver, so I thought I could sleep with you for the night?"

Naturally, Lincoln was confused. "Wait, what?"

"I believe it would be easier for me to explain my dilemma utilizing an ancient technique passed through the Loud bloodline," Luna remarked sternly as she wobbled to Lincoln's bed. And once she got on it, she reached for her back and took out two puppets; one crudely resembling herself and one crudely resembling Luan. "Puppets!"

"Yeah, okay," the boy said, grabbing Luna's puppet.


	14. O' Holy Night

**So, you're probably wondering when the next arc is happening, and who will be the main antagonist of the arc. Don't worry, both your answers should be answered in either this or the next chapter. But just to give you a fair warning, this arc's theme will be horror, so get ready for some scares and disturbing imagery.  
**

 **Also, in another set of news, I got good and bad news. The good news is that Chains of Reality has been featured in The Loud House's fanfic recs page on TV Tropes! The bad news is that I begin college tomorrow. Booooo.**

 **Oh well, let's get going.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Carol and Lana became star-crossed lo-I mean, friends, thanks to Lori not wanting the duo to hang out anymore after Carol got Lana absorbed by her counterpart-long story-and Carol was given the task of befriending the plumber girl.**

 **Lucy spoke with Lincoln about her problem with Maggie and Haiku, while the duo engaged in some banter outside, which ended with Maggie speaking with Lucy-on phone-and Haiku having to postpone the issue to go to Ronnie's sleepover.**

 **As if that wasn't enough, the twins, using their counterparts' items, saw some visions of their copycats and Lincoln, though they decided to sleep rather than look at them in depth. I can't blame them.**

 **Finally, at the original reality, Lori and Leni went to comfort Luna's counterpart, but they were soon reminded of her unpredictability, when she quickly recovered from the emotional distress of potentially never seeing Lincoln again.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Have a Goodnight, Loud Family! All Hail the Lord and Savior, Lincoln!**

* * *

 _Back at Lincoln's bedroom..._

The boy was getting ready to go to sleep, right when Luna barged into his room. "Well, I've gotten used to my sister barging in, so I'll let this one pass, but please, next time, at least knock the door," Lincoln told the rockstar as she wobbled to his desk, where she gripped the table and nodded. "Is something wrong, Luna?"

"Well, earlier this morning, Lori gave me quite the spanking in my butt," the rockstar answered before showing her backside to her brother, which was glowing red. "Now it's all red, and glowing, and stuff! I need a butt saver, or at least some way to sleep that'll lessen the pain, so I thought I could sleep with you for the night?"

Naturally, Lincoln was confused. "Wait, what?"

"I believe it would be easier for me to explain my dilemma utilizing an ancient technique passed through the Loud bloodline," Luna remarked sternly as she wobbled to Lincoln's bed. And once she got on it, she reached for her back and took out two puppets; one crudely resembling herself and one crudely resembling Luan. "Puppets!"

"Yeah, okay," the boy said, grabbing Luna's puppet. "I get the feeling this has something to do with Luan."

"So, Luan said, "You definitely need to leave to take a rest, how about you sleep with Lincoln?" then she pointed at the Luan puppet, while Lincoln gave the reader an "I told you" look. "And then I said, "How's that going to help?", and she said, "I slept with him once, and until Lori barged in, everything was honky dory, so don't catch her attention and you shoulde be fine!" And now I'm here. Get it?"

"... Let's say that I do understand the reasoning behind this," Lincoln replied before handing Luna back the puppet. "Anyhow, if you think it'll help you, then sure, you can sleep with me."

"Oh thanks a lot, Lincoln!" the rockstar hugged her brother in joy and tuckered them both as she added, "And don't worry, this time I won't sleep with my headphones on."

"Okay the-wait, what did you do with them?"

"I gave them to Lucy."

As that happened, Lucy rested on her bed, wearing Luna's headphones as they played a loud rock song. " _Is it true what they say, that words are weapons?_ _And if it is, then everybody best stop steppin'-_ "

"So this is what Luna listens to in her sleep," Lucy remarked in the middle of the song, before gaining a smile. "Gonna be honest, she has great taste."

And back with Luna and Lincoln, the duo hugged each other before falling asleep, upon which they found themselves in ProtoLuna's domain in the "original reality." Luckily, though, Lori and Leni were nowhere to be seen, and ProtoLuna didn't even seem to notice them. In fact, she was wearing clothing that looked similar to what a pope would wear, but with an orange-blue color scheme.

"Huh? How did we get here?" Lincoln inquired, taking a look around with his sister as ProtoLuna twitched. "I didn't sleep with the guitar from the list, so why did we wind up here?"

"That voice..." Other Luna slowly got up and dusted herself as the duo realized they probably should have been a bit more sneaky than that. "Have my prayers been answered? Has he finally listened?!"

And then ProtoLuna turned around and immediately glomped Lincoln in joy. "It really is you!" the prototype rockstar exclaimed in joy, rubbing her cheek against Lincoln's as she started to cry in bliss. "After so much time, you finally returned home! I can finally hold you in my hands again!"

"Um, excuse me," Luna blurted, catching her doppleganger's attention. "Where exactly are we? And you could at least ask for Lincoln's permission before you hug him like that!"

Realizing her mistake, the prototype rockstar paused before loosening her grip on Lincoln a little, but not enough to let him go. Then, as the guy tried to free himself from her grasp, Other Luna whimpered as she quickly regained her grip on the boy and clutched him close.

"Please, don't leave, don't leave us again, Linc, please stay with me tonight," the teenager shakily pleaded, shedding tears. "It's the first time I've seen you in years, I don't want this to end so soon-"

"I said, let him go!" Luna spat, briefly turning into her "Dumah" form.

Upon seeing the angel, Other Luna freed Lincoln and crawled back as much as she could until she bumped into her altar, but not enough to hit and destroy her altar. And she wasn't the only one surprised, since Lincoln looked at her with confusion.

"T-There, h-he's all yours... Again..." the girl remarked, getting on her knees and clasping her hands. "I-If you need something, j-j-just tell me, anything as long as it gives me more time to be... Free, in a sense... And try to be a bit quick, I have to do a sermon in a moment..."

"Why is she panicking?" Luna asked, right before Lincoln handed her a mirror and revealed her transformation. "Oh right, I forgot I could turn into this... Whatever it is-"

"Angel... Well, angel-oid," Proto-Luna hastily answered. "You're... An angeloid... Something that looks like an angel... That's the best answer I can give you..."

Though interested by what she meant, Lincoln quickly got his priorities straight and asked, "Well, first of all, where are we? And why did you say I came back home?"

"Because this _is_ your home!" Other Luna answered, flashing a little smile before it turned into a despair-filled frown. "Or at least, it was, until your... "sisters," took everything away."

"Wait, hold on a second, are you implying that the house Lincoln, me and our sisters live in... Used to be part of this place, and you used to live in it?" Luna recapped, earning a nervous nod from her doppleganger.

Her laughter at the idea was enough to show what she thought of the answer. "Listen, Love, you haven't even given us your name yet, and you expect us to believe such nonsense coming out of your mouth?"

"...My name is Luna Loud," Proto-Luna answered, narrowing her eyes and standing up, though the fact her legs were shivering made it clear she was still scared on the inside. "And I'm just answering your question to the best of my ability! You asked me where you are and why I call it home, so I told you that you're in what used to be my home!"

"She's probably right," Lincoln argued, catching the Lunas' attention. "I don't know why, but I sincerely believe she's telling us the truth."

"Fine, let's assume Miss Not-Me is saying the truth," Luna replied, rolling her eyes and folding her arms. "How can we get out of here?"

"Oh, come on, you just arrived!" ProtoLuna answered before summoning a tea cup and pot. "How about you stay for some tea and cookies?"

"That is the most stereo-tea-pical thing you could've offered us, and if I was legitimately Brtish, I would be very offended," Luna sternly stated, before throwing the seriousness right out the window. "Good thing I'm just pretending to be that! Come on, let's settle up a tea party!"

"Did you just make a pun?" Lincoln pointed out.

"What did I say?" the Lunas told the boy in unison.

And so, after a couple of minutes, Lincoln and the Lunas were sitting at a table, where ProtoLuna levitated the pot and served some real tea to her guests. "You know, it's good to be the patron of a tea party for once, instead of going to one of Lola's tea parties," the prototype rockstar remarked, taking a sip of her tea. "Not that I'm against her tea parties, but she can be rather... Spoiled."

"And obnoxious," Luna added.

"And annoying," Lincoln added.

"And Lola," Proto-Luna finished.

With that said, the trio laughed for a moment before Lincoln asked, "So, why are you saying Luna took your home?"

Upon saying that, the Lunas' laughter came to a screeching halt as Luna gave Lincoln an "are you serious?!" look. And given Other Luna shot the same look at him, she wasn't alone on her opinion.

"Well, talk about spoiling the mood," ProtoLuna sternly said, taking a deep breath before she gave the boy a honest answer. "Listen, Lincoln, I know you may have a lot of questions about a lot of stuff, but I find myself... Uncomfortable, remembering the events that brought us to where we are now."

Lincoln frowned and looked at the ground in regret. Though fortunately for him, ProtoLuna didn't stay mad for long. "Besides, there's something more important to take into account," she said before stretching her arm towards the abyss that was the horizon. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. Someone who's missed you a lot."

However, both Lincoln and Luna were a bit too focused on the fact ProtoLuna was stretching her arm like it was jelly, as if it was something ordinary. And it was, considering the earlier twin fight was weirder, but come on! And once she reeled her arm back, it returned with someone at hand...

Prototype Lily.

"Say hi to your... "older brother," Lily," the rockstar told the baby, growing hesitant at the "older brother" bit. "He might not come back for a while, so try to enjoy this moment as much as you can.

The baby just chuckled as she soon grew artificial arms and legs, followed by her being set on the table to slowly crawl towards a horrified Lincoln and Luna. "W-Why doesn't she have natural arms and legs?" Luna asked as Lincoln hesitantly grabbed the baby, who promptly rubbed his belly. "I-I thought everybody was naturally born with arms and legs!"

"Most of us were brought into existence with our full bodies, but Lily... She wasn't so lucky," ProtoLuna answered, frowning and looking away. "When she was being brought to life, the... "incident" that caused this reality to fall apart, and be taken to the new one, happened, so she wound up having only her head and body. Luckily, "The Maker" was nice enough to give her the ability to temporarily grow artificial arms and legs, but nothing else."

Lincoln then brushed ProtoLily's single tuff of hair as the baby laughed in joy. "What does she do?" the boy asked, giving the baby a reassuring look.

"She floats around the entire remains of this dimension, comforting whoever she comes across, but by the end of the "day," she basically comforts everyone," ProtoLuna explained. "So, if you were to take her away for far too long, it would prove... Problematic. You think my sisters were bad now? Just wait until you see them if they're not comforted by Lily... Or better yet, pray you never see them like that."

And then, Lincoln remembered something and handed the baby back to her sister. "Well, we can't really stay anymore," he said, twiddling his fingers. "Last time I remained in this place for too long, Lori appeared and she was really angry about it."

Fortunately, or not, instead of forcing them to stay, the prototype rockstar's eyes grew wide as she realized what the meant. "Oh gosh, I completely forgot that was a possibility!" she then snapped her fingers and looked around in a frantic panic. "Lincoln, Luna, you have to get out of here right now! All you need to do is wake up!"

"But how?!" Luna asked. And then she got an idea. "I know! Do you like rock music?"

Her counterpart raised an eyebrow in confusion. "No, I find it overrated-"

Literally seconds later, both Lincoln and Luna woke up back in the boy's bedroom. But just to be sure, the duo looked around to see if it wasn't a dream within a dream, and luckily, they soon verified this was the real world. Or as ProtoLuna would put it, the "New Reality."

"Well, that was some weird scenario we went through," Luna remarked, and Lincoln could only nod in agreement. "On the one hand, though, my butt no longer hurts for some reason!"

And then the duo saw that Lincoln was grabbing Luna's butt. And the instant he let go and cleaned his arms, Luna went on to feel it... And saw it was perfectly fine again. At the very least, the pain was gone, and it wasn't glowing red anymore.

"Lincoln, your hands must've healed my butt while we were sleeping!" Luna exclaimed before hugging her brother in joy "Either that, or you rubbed some healing cream on them, but eitherway, my butt's back to normal! Thanks a lot, bro!"

"N-No problem?" Lincoln replied, both confused and relieve.

"Well, I guess I should go back to my and Luan's bedroom and tell her my butt's alright now," then Luna released her brother, walked to the door, then turned and gave him a wink. "And don't worry, I'll keep what we saw today a secret between us, got it?"

Lincoln gave a thumbs up. "Goodnight, Lincoln, thanks for letting me nap with you!" Luna said as she waved farewell.

And once the teenager had left the room, Lincoln let out a long yawn before he went to sleep again, with one final thought:

" _I hope Ronnie Anne is enjoying her sleepover..._ "

 _Speaking of her..._

At the Santiago Household, in Ronnie's bedroom, Ronnie, Polly, Tabby, Giggles, and Haiku-all in their pajamas-constantly smacked themselves with pillows while laughing out loud. They soon stopped, however, when they saw the clock marked 9:00 pm.

"Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun," Ronnie remarked as everybody sat down. "So, do you guys wanna go to sleep now or-?"

"Oh, I know, let's play truth or dare first!" Giggles chirped. "There's no better way to end a sleepover than with such a classic game!"

"That could be fun," Haiku remarked with a shrug. "I'm in the mood for some t or d anyway."

"Are you girls okay with this?" Ronnie inquired to Polly and Tabby, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes as the duo nodded in agreement. "Alright, since Giggles is the one who suggested the game, how about she starts?"

"Haiku, truth or dare?" the clown girl inquired.

With a sly smile, Haiku said "Truth."

"I heard that you don't like people that smile a lot, why's that the case?"

Haiku took a deep breath, then put on a serious stare as she gave her answer:

"The longer and the wider someone smiles, the more and more blatant the lies hidden beneath become. A true person can't smile for long. A true person only smiles when happy or hiding something. Those who smile all the time hide either the biggest of tragedies, or the worst of intentions, a fact I had to learn the hard way a long time ago..."

To say everybody was shocked at the answer would be an understatement, and what left them even more speechless, was Haiku cheerfully adding, "Tabby! Truth or Dare?"

"I guess I pick dare," Tabby hesitantly answered.

Haiku flashed a mischivieous smile before stating, "I dare you to kiss Polly! In the mouth!"

"Okay, Haiku, that's kinda cruel," Ronnie stated as Polly and Tabby exchanged shocked looks. "I mean, what if it's their first kiss or something? You can't expect them to waste such a special occassion on a silly little-"

Suddenly, the sounds of kissing were heard, and everybody turned around to see Tabby was kissing Polly passionately. And once Tabby broke off the kiss, she quickly turned to Ronnie and said, while Polly grabbed her mouth in disbelief and blushed, "Ronnie, truth or dare?"

"I'm gonna pick dare, just to see what you come up with," the Hispanic tomboy answered with an excited smile. "Whatever it is, it can't be as bad as kissing another girl. No offense, Polly."

"I dare you to reveal something embarrasing about you!" Tabby exclaimed.

"D-Doesn't that fall more along the lines of truth?" Ronnie argued, looking away.

"Don't dodge the dare, Ronnie," Haiku said as Giggles held back her laughter. "You said dare, now you have to do as the dare say. Certainly, there's something embarrassing you can tell us."

Ronnie took a look around, and seeing the four girls wanted her to answer already, Ronnie blurted, "My real name is Ronalda."

Soon enough, someone burst out laughing, that being Polly Pina. "I'm sorry, but when I hear of Ronalda, I can't help but picture you as a clown selling hamburgers!"

And as Polly's laughter ceased, Ronnie took a deep breath and clasped her hands, "Okay, Polly, truth or Dare?"

Polly returned the smile. "Truth."

And then came Ronnie's question:

"Why did you agree to go on a date with Lincoln on the Sadie Hawkins dance?"

The roller skater flinched, and so did the other dates, though in their case they seemed outright horrified Ronnie asked the question. And of course, Ronnie had no idea why they acted like that.

Soon afterwards, Polly got up and walked to the bedroom's window, where she looked at the sky in contemplation while remaining very much silent. By this point, Ronnie started to think that maybe she asked something she shouldn't have.

"L-Listen, Polly, if that's a very personal question, then you don't have to answer it!" the Hispanic tomboy remarked with worry.

"You can switch to dare or-"

Polly suddenly answered:

"I agreed because I thought I could give him a good time."

And as Polly checked the items near the window to find something small, Ronnie could only raise an eyebrow in confusion: Polly wanted to give Lincoln a good time? In what way could he actually need help with that?

"We all did it for that reason too," Tabby added, catching Ronnie's attention as Giggles and Haiku nodded in agreement. "You see, Lincoln has something of a reputation around Royal Woods as the local punching bag, and that could be seen in the ways: For example, Luna described him as a guy who's beaten around the bush more than a drum."

"Luan described him as someone who's pain is funny at first, but gets boring and even pitiful after a while," Giggles added, with some discomfort becoming evident in her tone. "And seeing as she told me this the day after April Fools Day, I'm going to say she knows what she's saying."

"Lucy described him as the perfect poet," Haiku added, then looked at the ground with a frown. "I know that may sound like a compliment, but in the context Lucy used, it was anything but."

"Lynn described him as someone who can't kick a football, no matter how hard he tries," Polly suddenly blurted as she returned with the quartet, holding a small... Thing, made of plastiline. "Or, to be even more blunt, think of this little thing as Lincoln."

Polly put the thing on the ground, then took out a rock. "Now think of this rock as life in general."

The roller skater dropped the rock, and it squashed thing flat as a pancake. Ronnie's ensuing flinch confirmed she understood the metaphor.

"Now split the rock into 10 pebbles, then throw them at the unsquashed thing before squashing it with the big rock, and repeat it daily," Polly took a deep breath. "That was basically how Lincoln was perceived through the school."

"Granted, he was seen more as a pathetic person rather than someone to be pitied," Tabby clarified, before shooting a glare at the Hispanic tomboy. "Then again, you'd probably know about that better than us, what with you being a bully to him and all."

"Oh come on, are you seriously still upset about that little detail?!" Ronnie growled, pinching the bridge of her nose. If the glares she got were any indication, this was not approved by her fellow sleepover-goers, though Polly looked more neutral than usual. "I already explained it to at least two of you: I used to bully Lincoln, yes, but I no longer do that, I either bully other people or don't bully anybody at all!"

"Well, your argument is very much a big swiss cheese!" Giggles sternly stated, but only earned a raised eyebrow in confusion from Ronnie. "It's full of holes! That's what I'm trying to say!"

"What holes?!" the Hispanic girl snapped.

"Hole number one, you're just telling us this information instead of showing us," Haiku pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "As a poet and writer myself, one of the fundamentals I go by is show, don't tell, and as far as we know, it's just as likely you're lying to us just to get on our good sides."

Ronnie calmed down as she saw where the poet was coming from. "Okay, you have a good point, but-"

"Hole number two, you said you no longer bully Lincoln anymore. _Only_ Lincoln." Giggles pointed out, folding her arms. "Therefore, you may not bully him anymore but that doesn't mean you won't bully anybody else! You could even bully us if we're careless!"

"Don't be so paranoid!" Ronnie snapped, throwing her arms up in the air. "I would never bully people who are in need of help!"

"So when we're no longer needing help, you're going to bully us?!" Tabby hissed, folding her arms.

To say Ronnie grew exasperated with her words being misunderstood would be an understatement. "No! You're getting everything I'm saying wrong!"

"Okay, I think we got sidetracked for way too long now. How about we return to what we were talking about before?" Polly inquired, and the girls nodded in agreement, with her fellow Sadie Hawkins goers doing so with obvious vitriol towards Ronnie.

Polly took a deep breath and took out the plastiline thing out of the rock. "So yeah, he was seen as someone pathetic, but we saw him as someone to be pitied."

She made the plastiline thing look like Lincoln. "He needed a break. He needed to be happy. He needed to have a good day for once. And that's what we tried to do: I tried to make him happy by showing him how strong I was and what I could do, so, if we did meet more often, he'd know he had someone who could watch his back."

"I tried to teach him how to play instruments, first by using air instruments," Tabby added with a smile. "It didn't go beyond that, but he seemed to enjoy it, so that's a win in my book!"

"I tried to show him how to not smile so often," Haiku remarked, flashing a smile as she remembered Lincoln's Little "poem" about Jack and Jill. "So that people wouldn't think he's an easily manipulated little moron."

"I tried to make him laugh." Giggles said, surprising absolute nobody. "No particular reason, I just love making people have fun! That, and I'm training to be a clown, what else did you expect?"

And then came a question that left Ronnie speechless, which came from none other than Polly Pain:

"What have _you_ done for him?"

Ronnie looked at the ground and tried to think of something. However, no matter how hard she tried, she could only remember hanging out with him three times: During the double date, their dancing together at the arcade, and the whole egg fiasco. Of those three places, the arcade one sounded like the only one that wouldn't give her anymore trouble.

"Truth be told, we haven't hung out that much," Ronnie nervously answered, scratching the back of her head. "The best I can think about is when we played a dancing game at the arcade after the Sadie Hawkins deal. But since then... Nothing..."

"Nothing in the sense that you haven't interacted at all," Haiku asked, then narrowed her eyes as she added, "Or nothing in the sense you haven't hung out, and had a good experience?"

"Meh, a bit of column a," Ronnie hesitated, and rubbed her arm as she added, "And a bit of column b..."

"Wow, when she said she needed to hang out with him more, she wasn't joking," Tabby whispered to Polly, who gently hit her shoulder.

"Maybe it would be better if we went to sleep already?" Polly suggested, catching everybody's attention. "After all, this is supposed to calm us down, not bring up awkward, potentially upsetting stuff, okay? Let's just go to sleep, and we'll see what we do tomorrow."

Not having any objections, Haiku, Giggles, and Tabby promptly crawled to their futons and went to sleep, while Polly was approached by Ronnie Anne. "Thanks a lot, Polly, you really-"

"Listen, Ronnie, I'm starting to like you-platonically, of course-but if you really want to become our friend, or really be seen as someone you'd like to have as a friend, you have to do something about your lack of interaction with Lincoln, and your perceived status as a bully," Polly sternly explained. "Preferrably do the former when you have dealt with the latter issue first."

"Well, if you don't mind," Ronnie sat down next to Polly. "Could we talk about ways I could make people no longer see me as a bully? I mean, I promised myself I would only be a bully so nobody could hurt me again, so I would never feel weak or inadequate, but seeing how that has caused me more harm than good nowadays... I just wish I could go back to being a normal girl again, one that didn't have such a reputation amongst her classmates."

The roller skater gave Ronnie a stern look at first, but she soon changed her frown for a smile and wrapped her arm around Ronnie's shoulder in a comforting manner. And so, they started to talk about that, quietly enough so nobody would wake up.

 _Meanwhile, in the original reality..._

Lori and Leni floated amidst the black abyss that was the original reality, watching the protosisters get ready to do the sermon Proto-Luna talked about earlier all alone, at least until a seafoam green and light blue portal opened right next to them and Carol came out of it.

"Sorry for arriving late!" Carol exclaimed as her portal vanished from existence, with Leni giving her an understanding look, while Lori's stare made it clear she couldn't care less. "I had to do something first, and also check out Leni's sweater, and other stuff. Anyway, did I miss anything important?"

"No, the sermon hasn't started yet," Lori sternly answered.

And then Proto-Luna, still wearing the pope-like robe, entered the domain and everybody stood up. "And it looks like it's about to start," Leni remarked, as she lovingly wrapped her arm around Carol's back.

Proto Luna walked to a stand and put a book down before she spoke, "Sister who have fallen from His grace, stand up and let us pray in unison!"

Everybody stood up-except for Lori, Leni, and Carol for obvious reasons-but just before they started to pray, Proto-Lola and Proto-Lana walked forward to the image of Lincoln, standing in a small pedestal.

"Oh, it seems Sister Lola and Sister Lana would like to talk to the lord and savior?" Proto Luna said with surprise as the proto-twins sternly looked at their "brother"'s image. "Well, normally we would wait until we're halfway through the sermon, but-"

Suddenly, Proto Lola kicked the pedestal, tumbling it over and causing the image to hit the ground, upon which they started to tear it and stomp on it while their sisters watched in horror. "W-What are you doing!?" Proto Luna exclaimed in both horror and offense.

"Damn you, Lincoln, after seeing us again after so many years, you act like you don't even remember us!" Proto Lola shouted, tears streaking down her eyes as her throat started to feel heavy.

"We got, we, and you can't even acknowledge us!" Proto-Lana added, feeling the same burning feeling on her throat. "You just sat there and watched us be sealed again by our impostors!"

"If that's how you're going to act..." both proto-twins lifted their arms and summoned a replica of Lola's toy car. "Then you know what!?"

"Stop hurting the holy image!" Proto Luna demanded, with her eyes gaining an orange tint. "Don't condemn yourselves more than you have already done!"

The twins stopped, then turned to look around: Proto-Luna continued to look at them with obvious anger in her eyes, their other eyes looked at them with anxiety and disapproval-even Proto Lynn-and Carol and Leni gestured them to stop, while Lori's stare and smug smile outright _challenged_ them to go through with their threat. As for Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni, they just stared at them with neutral looks, almost as if they didn't even cared about what happened next.

They glanced at the car they held, then screamed as they jumped... And threw the car into the abyss, upon which is seemingly exploded upon hitting the "bottom" of the abyss. Soon afterwards, the twins cried out loud as they put the pedestal and the image back up and tried to fix it, with Proto Luna even taking sympathy on their sadness and helping them fix their mistake.

"You did wrong, my sisters, but you did fix the damage you did, or at least, tried to," Proto Luna told the duo as she put her hands on their shoulders. "And besides, in the end, the lord and savior forgives those who regret their transgressions against him."

Just as the twins thought they would be forgiven-with smiles included-Proto Luna tightly gripped the girls' shoulders, causing the pair to yelp and try and free themselves.

"But the lord and savior isn't here to forgive you, and you still had the audacity to hurt his holy image," the prototype rocker finished with a stern look. Then she turned to Lori. "Neo-Sister Lori, speak in Sister Leni's behalf: What punishment do you see fitting for us three?"

"Wait, why is she including herself?" Carol questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Proto Luna was left in charge of the prototype sisters when my and Lori's counterpart were sealed by Lincoln," Leni explained as Lori and Proto-Leni exchanged looks. "If they are punished, she must be punished as well, in order to make her try and be a better teacher."

Soon afterwards, Lori proclaimed, with her eyes gaining seafoam green sclera:

"Cut off your tongues, you blasphemy-spouting brats!"

And while the twins and the other sisters-that weren't Lori or Leni's counterpart-flinched at the statement, Proto Luna just chuckled, almost as if she saw it coming.

"Of course, the eight blasphemous punishment: Those who insult the lord with words will have their tongues cut off," the prototype rocker grabbed the twins by the back of their clothes and lifted them as she got up. "Sister Lynn, take us to your domain so the punishment may be executed."

Everybody's eyes fell upon Other Lynn, who gulped down her fear before stating "R-Right..." and taking everybody to her domain for the punishment. However, just as Carol followed Lori and Leni, the latter quickly turned to her and, putting her hands on her shoulders, pleaded the girl to "go back to the new reality."

"Why?" Carol asked. "Is the punishment really that bad?"

Leni hesitantly answered, "Believe me, it is."

Getting goosebumps from the idea, Carol opened a portal and left through it, with the portal vanishing from existence once Carol went through it. Back at Proto Lynn's domain, Proto Luna and the Proto Twins had their tongues tied to the other end of a small guillotine, one for every prototype. The three guillotines would be activated once a rope was pulled, which was held by Proto Lynn.

Of particular note, however, was that while Proto Lana's tongue was fine, Proto Lola's was segmented in half and sewed up with stitches, almost as if she had suffered this punishment before. But Proto Luna's tongue beat the prototype prima donna's, for it was segmented in six different, stitched segments.

As for the sisters, the trio were obviously scared, Proto Lynn actually seemed hesitant, and the other sisters looked away as to not see what would happen next.

Luckily, sort of, for them, something caught everybody's attention: This was Lindsey Sweetwater, her back turned against everyone, and with frenzied hair, chanting "The dirt's more valuable than me" while seemingly looking at the ground.

"Okay, I'll cave in," Proto-Luan blurted. "What's wrong with her?"

"Sister Lola brought her to my domain one day, and well," Proto-Lynn turned around, and after hearing the redheaded Lola lookalike chant once more, she sheepishly said, "I might have gone a bit too rough on her-"

Suddenly, Lindsey turned around-revealing she had a broken, bleeding nose and a black eye, not to mention she was missing teeth-and snapped, "Someone, for the love of god-"

"Lincoln!" the sisters vehemently corrected.

Crying her heart out, she finished. "-Tell me I'm more valuable than dirt!"

"Oh, you'll find this to be hilarious," Proto-Lynn rolled her eyes, and just to humor Lindsey's request-and herself-she answered, "You're more valuable than-"

However, just as quickly, Lindsey turned angry and shouted, "Bitch, don't lie to me!"

After some more seconds in silence, Lindsey turned her back on everyone again and continued to chant "the dirt's more valuable than me" as the prototype athlete chuckled. And only her, for everybody else was either shocked, worried, or in the case of Proto-Luna, exasperated.

"Charming," Proto-Luna said despite her tied tongue. "Now stop playing games and punish us already!"

Seeing her sister wasn't amused at all, Proto-Lynn swallowed her fears and got ready to pull the rope.

"As stated by Brother Lincoln before the, those who insult or demean his image with words, will have their tongues cut out," then, with rather evident hesitation, her hand shook as she slowly pulled the thing... "I really don't want to do this, but... This is the punishment you deserve. And besides, defying the High Sisters' will is punishable as well, so... Yeah... Sorry..."

" _Don't be sorry, Lynn,_ " the prototype rocker telepathically told the jock. " _This is what we deserve._ "

And then, Proto Lynn turned away and pulled the rope, unleashing the apparatus as Proto Luna smile and thought:

" _This is what we all deserve._ "

Both guillotines went off at the same time, with the prototype twins screaming as both their tongues and Proto Luna's started bleeding heavily. And while the prototype twins tried to stop their own tongues from bleeding out, this didn't stop them from slowly growing weaker until they hit the floor, their tongues still bleeding as they collapsed and lost consciousness...

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"You believe their counterparts are going to be that big of a deal?" Proto Lori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-Yes! Of course!" and as the prototype rockstar spoke, the eldest prototypes thought about her words and Lori and Leni exchanged looks. "They may have just unlocked their pseudo powers, and they still got a long way to go, but they could still manage to prove problematic for the mission, specially if they manage to work together long enough to defeat or even kill the sister!"

"She has a point there," Lori remarked as Leni nodded in agreement.

Proto-Luna smiled, believing she had managed to buy time for her "brother". But alas, what her eldest sisters said next disproved that:

"Well then, if those two are going to be that problematic, I believe the best thing to do is send them to deal with those pesky little twins."

"Them?" ProtoLuna repeated, though it wasn't before not only she, but Lori and Leni, grimaced at their guess. "Oh no... No way, no way, no!"

And then, a pair of shadowy figures surrounded by dark purple auras, followed by a smaller shadowy figure enveloped in a pure black aura. Notably, the smaller figure had a pair of pinprick lights where their eyes would be, and as they laughed like a maniac, the other figures flashed a pair of white, glowing glares in the shape of an "L" tilted at 90 degrees...


	15. A Bad Feeling

**I don't know about you guys, but in my opinion, this is where the second arc in the "Younger Prototypes Saga" begins. Not gonna say the name yet to not spoil the main villain. Saying anything else would be a spoiler, so... Enjoy.  
**

* * *

 **Last time on Chains of Reality, Lincoln and Luna spoke with Luna's prototype counterpart, then left before Lori found them. With that done, Ronnie discovered the reason for why Polly, Tabby, Haiku, and Giggles went to the Sadie Hawkins dance with Lincoln, and the prototype twins got their punishment. Oh lord, did they pay dearly.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, in Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: The Hour of Decision Approaches! Have You Decided Yet, Lucy?**

* * *

 _The next "day," at Luna's section of the other dimension..._

The prototype rockstar was dusting off her platform when she received an unexpected visit from Lori and Leni. Not the prototype ones, but the new ones. "Luna, we have to talk," Lori sternly stated as she and Leni flew to her.

Naturally, the prototypical rocker freaked out upon hearing Lori's voice, and her worries didn't cease _at all_ when she turned around and saw the duo looking at her. "G-Greetings, Lori and Leni," she said, clasping her hands and forcing a smile. "W-What brings you to this desolate, broken platform I call my domain? If it's because of the sermon yesterday, you know the rules, Lola and Lana earned their punishment."

"Again, we need to talk," Leni repeated, giving the prototype rocker a calm smile. "Listen, we know you, like, had Lincoln and Luna appear in your domain, and you did nothing to stop them from finding out about this dimension-"

"H-How did you-?!"

"Did you forget that Lisa monitors, like, everything?"

The rocker immediately slapped herself. "Anyhow, we're not here to scold you or anything," Lori remarked, rolling her eyes. "We're just here to request that you stay out of trouble: Keep your mouth shut about this place and its history, and if you find that too hard, then don't bring them here again."

"They came to me, not the other way around!" Proto-Luna clarified in a panic.

"Yes, Lisa told us that too," Leni replied as she put a hand in Proto-Luna's shoulder. "But you have to understand that, in order to make sure the plan succeeds, each and every sister, like, has to follow the rules to the letter. So please, try to stay quiet next time, okay?"

"Now come with us," Lori added. "Our counterparts would like to speak with you as well."

Proto-Luna instantly flinched. And a couple seconds later, she found herself in the domain of her eldest sisters, who remained suspended above them, you know, nothing unusual. What was unusual, though, was that the prototype twins were also there.

"Greetings, everyone," Proto-Lori started, earning a bow from her sisters and Lori and Leni. "So, as you all should know by now, Lola and Lana were defeated, rather embarrassingly easy, by their counterparts, who hadn't even achieved their true power yet."

"W-We were caught off-guard!" Proto-Lana mentally argued, with her twin sister nodding in agreement. Their elder sisters were not amused. "We probably would've been able to give them a better fight if they hadn't copied the diamond flash!"

"Copied attack or not, you were still beaten too easily for us to, like, consider letting you try again," Proto-Leni retorted. "No, now we're sending someone else-"

"Y-You can't send her just yet!" Proto-Luna blurted.

And of course, this caught the attention of everyone. "I-If you send whoever you're sending right now, t-the twins could probably be able to deal with them!"

"You believe their counterparts are going to be that big of a deal?" Proto Lori asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Y-Yes! Of course!" and as the prototype rockstar spoke, the eldest prototypes thought about her words and Lori and Leni exchanged looks. "They may have just unlocked their pseudo powers, and they still got a long way to go, but they could still manage to prove problematic for the mission, specially if they manage to work together long enough to defeat or even kill the sister!"

"She has a point there," Lori remarked as Leni nodded in agreement.

Proto-Luna smiled, believing she had managed to buy time for her "brother". But alas, what her eldest sisters said next disproved that:

"Well then, if those two are going to be that problematic, I believe the best thing to do is send them to deal with those pesky little twins."

"Them?" Proto-Luna repeated, though it wasn't before not only she, but Lori and Leni, grimaced at their guess. "Oh no... No way, no way, no!"

And then, a pair of shadowy figures surrounded by dark purple auras, followed by a smaller shadowy figure enveloped in a pure black aura. Notably, the smaller figure had a pair of pinprick lights where their eyes would be, and as they laughed like a maniac, the other figures flashed a pair of white, glowing glares in the shape of an "L" tilted at 90 degrees...

 _Suddenly, back at Lori and Leni's bedroom..._

Leni suddenly woke up and covered her mouth, just in case she started to scream. Luckily, by the time Lori woke up as well, Leni managed to calm down and catch her breath. "You were scared by the chosen prototype too, weren't you?" Lori asked, earning a nod from Leni. "Do you think you'll be able to sleep again right now?"

"No, I can still hear her laughter even from here," the ditzy fashionista winced as the laughter echoed in her head. "And besides, it's early in the morning anyway."

"Well, try to find something else to do," Lori hit the hay. "I'm gonna go back to sleep."

And as the phoneaholic teenager snored, Leni quickly got an idea and left the room, making sure she didn't move loud enough to wake up her siblings. She crawled from her and Lori's bedroom to Lincoln's, and went inside to find the boy was fast asleep. And while she didn't want to wake him up, he was probably used to waking up early anyway.

"Hey, Lincoln?" she whispered to his ear.

"Leni, it's six in the morning, this is the time the Santiagos wake up, but not us!" Lincoln replied, keeping his eyes closed. "Wait at least one more hour before waking me up, please."

"But I just, like, had a horrible fashion nightmare, and I don't think I'll be able to sleep again for now," the teenager pulled some pleading eyes on her brother. "Would you be kind enough to come with me and do something to calm me down?"

Lincoln just stubbornly rolled around away from Leni. However, the ditz smiled as she said:

"What if I told you I not only know where Carol Pingrey, the girl from before, lives, but I know how to convince her to train both you and the twins be better prepared for another copycat attack?"

Lincoln's eyes widened at the suggestion.

 _Meanwhile, in Ronnie Anne's bedroom..._

Ronnie slept on her bed, drooling a bit as she snored. She continued doing this as a pair of hands-one clearly belonging to a teenager and the other to a girl-shook her and said her name several times. Eventually, the freckled tomboy woke up and took a look around.

"Huh? W-What?" Ronnie rubbed her eyes and stretched. "What time is it?"

"Six in the morning."

Recognizing the voice as belong to her brother, Ronnie turned around and saw both Bobby and Polly nearby, with Polly also looking like she just woke up.

"Good morning, Ronnie. Polly came to me and said she needed my help to wake you up," Bobby explained as Polly stretched. "As for where are your other friends, they left a while ago; the punk one said she had something else to do, the gothic one said she had to get ready for something, and the clown one went along with the gothic one."

"Huh, maybe that's for the better," Ronnie turned to Polly. "What about you, Polly? For what reason did you stay?"

"There's something we need to discuss, Ronnie," Polly answered, and after a couple seconds, the tomboy turned to the oblivious Bobby and stated, "Something we need to discuss alone, to be specific."

Realizing what she tried to say, Bobby sneaked his way out of the room, but not before saying, "Oh, uh, right. Good morning to you too! You got breakfast downstairs!"

Then, once he was gone, Polly shook her head as Ronnie-visibly worried-approached her. "I can't help but get the feeling you're upset about something."

"I am, but don't worry, you're not the reason I'm upset," Polly frowned. "Rather, it's the idea of me teaching you how to roller skate. You see, after we finished talking about ways of how to make yourself look less like a bully, I started thinking about it... And I never really made sure you wanted to do it."

"Oh, Polly, you don't need to worry about that," Ronnie forced a smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "As long as I help you deal with your problems with Lynn, who cares what I think?"

Polly's worried expression was self-explanatory, so much that Ronnie quickly corrected herself, "What I was trying to say was, as long as you and Lynn reconcile, do you really mind making me learn about something without asking me first?"

"I do, Ronnie. Because forcing you to do something without making sure you want to do it, is something Lynn would do," Polly crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "And if there's one thing I want to avoid, is start acting like her. I don't want to be "big chinned" Lynn or something like that. I want to be my own person."

Ronnie Anne smiled with a glimmer of grateful joy, though she quickly calmed down when Polly shot a confused look at her. "W-Well... Being honest, I'm not that much of a sports fan myself. However, if what you want is to try and get your mind off Lynn, then I might have an idea for that."

Polly raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

 _Back at the Loud house, at... the backyard?_

Lucy, looking the same as usual but with the addition of black gloves, stood in front of a goalpost while the same Lynn lookalike Lynn and Lori met earlier prepared to kick a ball straight for it. And unlike last time, this time she was wearing her normal clothes: they were the same as Lynn's, but with blue shorts instead of red ones.

"C-Come on, Lynn!" 'Lucy' whined, trying her hardest to stand up. "You told me you were going to go easy on me!"

"I am going easy on you!" 'Lynn' replied, rolling her eyes. She also sounded surprisingly annoyed and disappointed. "It's not my fault that you're a weakling who would rather write pretty words on a paper than develop some muscles!"

"Hey, it's your fault for asking me out of all our sisters to play a sport!" 'Lucy' vehemently replied, stomping the ground. "And besides, muscles are overrated!"

'Lynn' narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth as 'Lucy' realized she probably shouldn't have said that. And then, she could only cover herself as 'Lynn' kicked the ball so hard, it was sent flying at such speed it was surrounded by an aura of fire. Luckily, however, just as the ball struck the poet, she woke up back in her room.

"Yo."

The goth flinched and turned around to see it was Lynn who said that, sporting an amused grin. With the ensuing chuckle from the jock, the goth clutched her chest and caught her breath.

"Good morning, Duchess," Lynn said, gently brushing Lucy's hair. "I'm surprised you're actually _capable_ of being surprised. You know, with you being the one surprising people all the time, I was wondering if you knew how it felt on the other side."

"Well, now I do," Lucy answered, sounding a bit more worried than usual. "Specially because today's the day I have to decide who should I pick, Maggie or Haiku."

"Oh yeah, now that you mention them, Luan came here earlier and said someone was calling you," Lynn added before she helped Lucy get off her be. "She said it was important."

Upon hearing that, Lucy could only grimace as she got an idea of who it could be. So she walked to Luna and Luan's bedroom, where neither of the girls were present, and grabbed the phone, which was ringing. "H-Hello?"

"Hi, Lucy," Maggie answered from the other end. "Listen, I just realized I probably forgot to tell you how to get to my house in the first place, so I told your comedian sister-"

"You mean Luan?" Lucy asked.

With an exasperated groan, Maggie continued, "Yes, "Luan," to guide you to it whenever you felt ready. I would've asked the white-haired boy to do it, but I'm going to be honest, I don't like him one bit. I mean, he nearly ruined my birthday party with his stupid pratfalls! Can you blame me for not liking the guy who nearly ruined such an important day in my life?"

Lucy couldn't blame her, yes, but she still didn't approve of her talking about her brother like that. "Anyway, whenever you feel ready to go, just go tell "Luan" and she'll guide you to my house. And don't worry, I made sure to send the message to your poet friend too. See ya!"

The call automatically ended there and Lucy took a deep breath before hanging the phone. Then she walked out of the room, only to step on a banana peel. And she didn't slide out of control, no, she just stepped on it, then looked at it with confusion. And as she picked it up, Luan and Lisa entered the room.

"Wow, you were right, Lisa," Luan remarked, startling the goth. "Fresh banana peels are not slippery."

"Told ya!" Lisa replied, flashing a smug smile.

 _Meanwhile, with Haiku..._

The poet ran as fast as she could through the streets, looking for Maggie's house in desperation. " _Okay, if the map Maggie gave me is right, her house should be around here somewhere._ " the girl thought as she looked around for the girl's house, with very little success. " _Come on, where is it?! I know I probably shouldn't trust Maggie, but I have no other way to find her house!_ "

Suddenly, she ran past Tabby and Giggles, who were sitting at a table talking about something. Tabby looked a bit somber, while Giggles was trying to cheer her up with a reassuring smile.

"Tabby? Giggles?" she said as she stopped on her tracks and turned to the girls. "Fancy meeting you here, listen, I'm looking for the house of a teenage emo girl named Maggie. Have you heard of her?"

"Wow, you must be really desperate," Tabby answered, rubbing her forehead. "Listen, Haiku, I think you're asking that question to the wrong people. I mean, I've never heard of that Maggie girl you're talking about-"

"Actually, Luan once told me about the birthday party of a girl named Maggie," Giggles remarked, giving Haiku some relief. "She said she was a pessimistic emo girl-"

"Yes! That's the Maggie I'm talking about! I'm looking for her house!" Haiku interrupted, clasping her hands. "Can you tell me where it is?!"

"I hate to break it to you, pal, but according to what Luan told me, the house is all the way back where you came from, and a little bit to the south," the young clown explained, causing Haiku's eyes to widen in disbelief. "Why did you think it was over here, anyway?"

"Maggie herself to-" it wasn't long before she figured out what that meant, and reacted accordingly: getting angry. "-tally made me look like an idiot!"

And so, the girl ran as fast as she could back where she came from, all while the duo waved goodbye. "Well, thanks for cheering me up, Giggles," Tabby remarked as she got off her seat and dusted herself. "I'll go see if I can set up a show at the poetry club for me and Polly, maybe that could help us ease some worries?"

"Only one way to find out," Giggles answered with a shrug.

"Yup! Ask the music gods!" Tabby clasped her hands and closed her eyes. "Oh, music gods, please tell me what I should do next!"

Suddenly, a couple of booming voices in the sky exclaimed, "clean your room!" with an authoritarian tone. Soon afterwards, Tabby looked to her left and right with an unsure look, while Giggles flinched and nearly jumped out of her seat.

"Go to the poetry club!" Tabby whispered, imitating the sky voice's... Voice. "Oh well, looks like I gotta go to the club, see ya later Giggles!"

With that said, Tabby got off her chair and ran to the club as fast as she could, leaving the baffled Giggles behind.

 _Back with Lucy..._

The goth took out two dresses from her closet and showed them to Lynn. One of them was black, the other was a grey that was so dark, you'd be forgiven it was also black. "Do you think I should go with the white dress, or the dark grey dress?"

"Aren't they the same thing?" Lynn argued, focusing solely on her "Buff Guys" magazine. "Just wear whichever you find more comfortable."

"Oh for goth's sake, Lynn, this is something important!" the goth replied, stomping the ground in exasperation. "I can't just wear the same thing I wear every day! I need to show Maggie and Haiku that I really do care about this decision!"

"Just tell them so," the athlete nonchalantly answered.

"It's not that easy, Lynn." the goth went to her desk and sat down as she continued. "I'm going to pick the person who's going to help me become a poet. I only have one chance to do this, so-"

And then the athlete threw a magazine at Lucy's head, catching her attention. "Lucy, I hate to break it to you, but asking me about it won't help you in the slightest." Lynn sternly stated. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm more concerned with sports and muscles than fashion and poetry. If you really want to get some help with this decision or whatever, go ask for Leni and Luna's help."

"That's it!" Lucy snapped her fingers in relief. "Leni can help me with what I should wear, and Luna could help me with picking the right teacher! But should I ask them now or wait?"

"Wow, this guy's so buff, even his crotch has notable muscles!" Lynn remarked out loud. "That's actually kind of scary."

"Yeah, I should totally ask them now," and then she noticed Luna's headphones on her bed. "I'll go to Luna first, I have to give her back her headphones. Enjoy your... Crotch muscles, Lynn."

"I'll give it my best try," the jock answered, focusing solely on her magazine. "Oh wow, crotch and butt muscles!"

Internally cringing from Lynn's words, Lucy quickly left her room and headed to Luna and Luan's bedroom. Once there, she found Luna and Luan, the latter trying to write a pun while the former looked at the ceiling in contemplation.

"Hi, Luna," Lucy greeted as she walked to the rocker, catching her attention. "Thanks for letting me use your headphones, they really helped me sleep yesterday."

"Hey, anything for giving my sister a goodnight sleep," the rocker wannabe answered as she took the headphones back. She then gave Lucy a reassuring look and brushed her hair. "Anyway, is there something else you need, sis?"

"Well, I wanted to ask you if you knew where's Leni," the goth answered, twiddling her fingers.

"I saw her leaving earlier today with Lincoln, Lola and Lana. She said something about taking them to train with a friend of hers," Luna answered, pointing at her window. "Did you need her for something?"

"Today's the day I must decide who to pick as a poetry teacher, and I needed Leni's help to decide what to wear," the goth sat next to her older sister and grabbed her hand. "Lynn says I should just wear what I wear everyday, but I want to make sure Haiku and Maggie don't think I'm not taking this seriously. Plus, I just want to wear something different today."

"Well, I myself wouldn't be of much help, but Luan could probably give you a hand," and then Luna turned to her comedian sister and shouted, "Hey Luan, can you help Lucy pick something nice to wear to her date or something?"

Naturally, the flustered Lucy blushed as red as a tomato. "I-It's not a date!"

However, only after a couple seconds did Luan turn to look at Luna, and reacted with shock upon seeing the goth. "Oh hi, Lucy, when did you get here?"

The duo were not amused, and Luan actually seemed to notice this. "Sorry for the bad joke, but I'm just trying to lighten the mood," the comedian put a hand on her gothic sister's shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Lucy, you sound very worried about this whole deal."

"This decision could make or break my future poetry career," the gothic girl answered. " _Well, make or break it further than losing my eyes has done_."

"I know! How about we call Maggie and see if we can convince her to put less pressure on you?" Luan dialed Maggie's phone number, and not even a second later, Maggie responded. "Hey! She actually answered this time!"

 _On the other end of the call..._

Maggie, with her phone right next to her ear, waited in the middle of her room for Luan to answer, since unlike every other time, she actually needed to tell her something this time. And also unlike most other times, Maggie actually looked happy; she sported a wide smile on her face, and her pupils were diluted until they took up most of her eyes.

However, something about this "happiness" felt... Off.

"Hi, Maggie!" Luan greeted, causing Maggie's smile to falter. "Listen, I-"

"Hi, Luan! I'm so happy you called, I really am! But I'm so sorry that I can't talk with you anymore, I'm in the middle of some important business and I can't spare the time to listen to your oh-so hilarious but then, without breaking her happy face, she finished with a threatening tone, "And if you dare call me again, then I will grow so angry, I will do everything I can... To ignore you!"

The emo poet hung up and saved her pocket before she returned to her "important business", which was basically a little tea party set up with some plush toys and one special guest. Who was this guest?

A mannequin made to resemble Mick Swagger.

"I'm so sorry we had that nasty little interruption, Mick, but I've dealt with it now!" Maggie remarked, her happyness almost sounding forced. "Anyway, do you wanna go the stereotypical way, or would you rather try to quit the British stereotype for once?"

The mannequin, quite obviously, didn't say anything, but while Maggie's eye and head twitched a little, she didn't let this get her down.

"Oh, silly me, how could I forget the most important detail?" the emo teen took out a radio from underneath the table and put it up. "Everybody knows the legendary Mick Swagger needs some sort of classical music in the background!"

She turned the machine on and played some classical music. However, it didn't take long before it was made clear Maggie was trying her hardest to act like she enjoyed the music, if only for "Mick"'s sake.

"Do you like it, Mick? I've been told that you like to do everything with some sort of music in the background," Maggie remarked, her pupils shrinking as she got up and stared at the mannequin. "After all, you said it yourself: You love music."

Suddenly, Maggie's room started to glitch and eventually transformed into what looked like the middle of a rave or concert, with Maggie and "Mick" being surrounded by dozens of fans dancing to the beat of guitar music.

"You like the feeling of rock and roll," Maggie blurted as she walked towards the mannequin, her smile frozen and her eyes twitching as they got a hint of rage in their look. "Music is your passion, and your meaning in life!"

The instant she grabbed "Mick" by the neck, the music glitched before it slowly got out of tune, until it eventually sounded corrupted when the emo poet pinned "Mick" to the ground and started to "strangle" him.

"What you didn't told me, however, was that you wanted to live with music!" Maggie shed tears, her smile finally breaking into a frown as she continued. "All because you just had to pick it over those who cared about you! All because you demanded an answer you shouldn't have needed!"

Maggie stopped the beating and turned around to see a plush toy on her bed, which briefly turned into Luna as she lifted "Mick" and got ready to throw him.

"All because of her!"

The emo girl threw the mannequin at her bed, and it snapped in half once it clashed with the bed's wooden frame. Upon seeing this, Maggie returned to reality and ran after the broken Mick lookalike, just as her mother barged into the room.

"Magdalene, I heard you screaming from downstairs!" the woman's tone changed from concerned to exasperated once she saw Maggie trying to fix "Mick" using some duct tape. "Oh lord, not this again..."

And as the mother walked to her daughter, Maggie tried to fix "Mick" as she chanted "I can fix it!" in both desperate guilt and quiet anger.

"Maggie, you know what the therapist told you about the "Mickequin" you're using," Mrs. Maggie's Mother told her daughter, immediately catching her attention. "Trying to cling to a copy of Mick Swagger isn't going to make the trauma of what happened years ago."

And yet, Maggie refused to stop trying to fix the object. "Mick left Royal Woods to continue his musical career, and I understand why you'd be upset about it," the woman continued, looking at the ground. "But there's nothing we can do about that. The best thing we can do, is try to move on."

"What do you think I've tried to do for these past few years?!" Maggie snapped, slapping her mother and hugging her partially-fixed Mick Swagger replica. "I have enough clothes to last me a couple months, I've saved up enough money to buy a ticket, and I already researched jobs I could get in order to earn a living, and yet you refuse to let me move on to Brittain!"

"Moving on" as in continue our lives, not outright going to live in another country!" Maggie's mom snapped, causing the emo girl to back away. "Besides, not only is Mick probably not even in there, but you're way too young to live on your own, and I can't come with you even if I wanted to!"

Once she heard that, Maggie turned to "Mick" and hugged him more tightly, specially when her mother tried to grab him. "Come on, I'll take this back to the basement and I'll prepare you something to calm your nerves."

However, the instant her mother grabbed the mannequin, Maggie saw everything change back to the concert-rave party thing, only this time she was holding onto a younger version of herself-who was clinging to her arm as hard as she could-while a security guard was trying to force her out of the party.

"No!" Maggie pulled back, with the security guard pulling as well. "Let her go!"

"Her? Maggie, your psychosis is gradually getting worse the more you cling to this thing!" the guard said with Maggie's mother's voice. "If you don't let this mess go, you're gonna go completely nuts!"

Angered at the remark, Maggie raised one arm, and showing her black fingernails, she shouted:

"Bitch, don't lie to me!"

She slashed at the security guard, and right in that moment, everything turned back to normal: Maggie saw her younger self turn back to "Mick" and the security guard back to her mother, who now had five slash scars across her right eye.

Once she noticed this, Maggie clung to the mannequin and backed away into the wall as her mother promptly gave her a look. However, she didn't look so much angry as she looked like she genuinely wanted to help, but Maggie's stubbornness made that easier said than done.

"Well, I guess I should let you deal with this on your own? 'Cause I honestly don't know how to help you anymore, Magdalene," Maggie's Mom somberly remarked before walking to the door, then adding, "By the way, I was called from work, they need me to go there right away, and I don't have time to call a babysitter, so can I trust you'll be able to handle yourself while I'm gone?"

Maggie silently nodded, and hugged the mannequin some more. Then, with a somber smile, her mother bid farewell and left her room. Once she was out of sight, Maggie finished giving the object and continued the tea party as if nothing had happened.

"Okay, that was another highly unpleasant interruption, but they're over now, I swear!" the teen girl told "Mick" right before she showed him a plate of cookies. "Anyhow, would you like a cookie?"

"Mick" once again said nothing, and this time, Maggie's smile shivered and tears rolled down her cheeks as she shakily asked:

"Why don't you ever tell me what you want from me?"

 _Meanwhile, with Leni, Lincoln, Lana and Lola..._

The quartet walked through the streets of Royal Woods, with the twins looking around everywhere while holding hands with Lincoln. The boy himself was following Leni, who firmly looked at the road in front of her with slight worry.

"So, Leni, care to tell me who's this friend you mentioned?" Lincoln inquired, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head. Leni herself notably flinched at the question. "You did kinda dragged us into this without telling us anything."

"Oh Lincoln, you're so impatient sometimes," Leni replied, shaking her head. She then turned to her brother and gave him a reassuring, if tired, smile. "Listen, you'll see her when we get to her place, okay? Just... Be patient until then."

However, just as they continued to walk towards their destination, a pair of dark purple energy orbs suddenly materialized in the middle of their way, with their surrounding electric auras causing the quartet to forcefully stop right there. And then everything went silent...

"Leni, what are those things?" Lincoln inquired as the twins hid behind him.

"Lincoln... Lola... Lana..." Leni stated as she pulled the trio closer to her. She then put on a stern look as the energy spheres began to glow black... "Hang on tight!"

Suddenly, the energy spheres' auras grew bigger and more volatile, causing the ground to shake violently while the sphere slowly contorted into humanoid shapes. Said shapes progressively grew more and more humanoid, until in the place where their eyes should be, a tilted L flashed, right before the humanoid duo unleashing a massive purple shockwave that destroyed the surrounding area.

Luckily, however, once the smoke dissipated, it was revealed Leni had summoned a seafoam green barrier around herself, Lincoln and the twins, protecting not only them but the surrounding location. Once the barrier broke off, however, the quartet managed to see who came out of the spheres.

The duo were Haiku and Maggie lookalikes, looking exactly like the ones from this dimension, but with black masks that had a glowing tilted L-shaped visor currently glowing grey. Not only that, but they had dark grey auras around them, sending chills up Lincoln and the twins' spines, while making Leni actually look serious for once.

" _So, if these two were sent to this realm, then I think I know what prototype was picked next,_ " Leni thought, narrowing her eyes as she exchanged stern glares with the pair. She then glanced at her siblings, who were shivering and trying their hardest to stay out of sight. " _I need to keep these three hidden. At their current state, they won't be able to deal with-_ "

Just as she turned back to the pair, however, she was met by Other-Maggie's look, right before she sent her flying into a wall with a single punch. A punch so hard, Leni actually crashed through the wall.

"Leni!" Lincoln and the twins shouted in horror.

And then Other-Haiku teleported in front of the trio and restrained the twins while Other-Maggie grabbed Lincoln and lifted him. Her visor then glew seafoam green as it analyzed the boy from head to toe.

"Angel identified: Metatron," the teenager stated with a robotic monotone. "Initiating the angel incarceration protocol."

"The what protocol?!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Other-Maggie simply morphed her free arm into an electrified whip and prepared to strike the boy with it, right before Leni returned and smacked her away, followed by her throwing Other-Haiku like a ball with a single kick. With that done, the teenager collapsed and caught her breath as her siblings went to her aid.

"Are you okay, Leni?" Lana asked, putting a hand in Leni's shoulder.

"...Not by a long shot," the teenager answered hesitantly. "Listen, right now, we can't deal with those two. We have to get out of here, and now!"

And then, just before the trio could ask Leni what was going on, Other-Haiku kicked her away and restrained the kids with electric whips just as Other-Maggie returned and got ready to pummel them with her hammer-arm. However, just before she got to do that, Leni blocked the hammer attack-breaking her arm in the process-and then grabbed and threw Other-Haiku at her, though the clash didn't exactly help them that much.

"Nevermind, there's been a change of plans!" Leni proclaimed, right before lifting the trio telekinetically. "You three will have to go to Carol's house and train over there. I'll stay here and deal with these girls."

"But your arm's broken!" Lincoln argued, with the twins nodding in agreement.

"Don't worry, Lincoln, I'll be fine," was Leni's sole answer.

And with that said, Leni then threw her siblings far away, then blocked the Maggie and Haiku lookalikes just as they chased after them.

"You want to capture my siblings?" Leni asked, right before gaining a seafoam green aura around her, with slight hints of light blue in it. "You'll have to get past me!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Lori walked back and forth at the living room, arms folded behind her back. As she did this, she heard Luna and Luan talking with Lucy, who was apparently asking them to hurry up so she could go to Maggie's house already, an opinion shared by the eldest Loud.

" _When are those two going to be finished with Lucy?!_ " she thought, glancing at her wristwatch. " _Leni's counterpart is going to send the next prototype any second now, and she hates to be left waiting!_ "

And then, with almost no warning, Leni opened the main door and went inside, closing it just as Lori noticed her arrival. "What are you-" and then she noticed her arm. "Oh my-!"

However, the young adult quickly covered her mouth, remembering that Luna and Luan were busy at the moment, and the last thing she needed at the moment was for them to meddle into this mess. So the two left the house, and flew to the hospital.


	16. An Even Worse Feeling

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni seemingly revealed the next proto-sister, while Leni convinced Lincoln and the twins to go to Carol's place to train. On other topics, Luna and Luan helped Lucy get prepared for her visit to Maggie's house-'Cause Lynn is just flipping useless to her in this issue-and Haiku was on her way to the emo's house. Maggie's psychosis comes to light in private, and just as Leni took Lincoln and the twins to Carol's house, she was forced to threw them away to fight a pair of masked copycats alone.**

 **Oh and there was something with Ronnie Anne and Polly, I guess.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: The Training Begins! Developments Happen All Over The Place!**

* * *

Back where we left off, Leni was sent flying through a couple trees as the masked Maggie and Haiku chased after her. Not helping matters was her broken arm wobbling around the place, bringing agonizing pain to the teenager. Nevertheless, the teenager managed to regain her composure quickly enough to catch her footing amidst the adrenaline running through her blood.

" _Well, at least I managed to get Lincoln and the twins as far away from this mess as possible,_ " Leni thought as she caught her breath, right before the masked goth and emo arrived next to her. " _Now I just need to find a way to get rid of these two._ "

 _Meanwhile, back with Lincoln, Lana and Lola..._

The trio screamed and hugged each other as they aimlessly flew through the skies, unable to move or even see where they were going to wind up at. They continued to scream even when a shadowy figure caught them and brought them safely to the ground, wherein they dropped them rather carelessly.

"Ouch!" Lola whined upon hitting the ground. "Hey, thanks for catching us, but you could've dropped us a bit softer, you know?!"

"Geez, you have to deal with this loudmouth all the time?"

While Lincoln flinched and Lola started to get angry, Lana was immediately surprised when she recognized the voice. Then she turned around, and saw it was none other than Carol Pingrey, giving the trio a reassuring smile. And of course, being happy to see the teenager again, Lana leaped straight for Carol and hugged her.

"Carol!" Lana chirped, tightening the hug. "You survived the Super Powered Mutant Frog Toad Weirdos, or whatever they were called!"

"I'm happy to see you again too, Lana," Carol replied, before turning to Lincoln and Lola. "Care to introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh, sorry. These are my siblings; my older brother, Lincoln, and my younger twin sister, Lola."

"You're only older by 2 minutes!" Lola whined as she got up and dusted herself.

"I can already tell I'm not going to like her," Carol remarked, rolling her eyes. "So, where's Leni?"

"She was going with us when two girls appeared out of some energy spheres that just came out of nowhere," Lincoln explained, though it wasn't long before he tried to justify said explanation. "And I know it sounds baffling, but-"

"I understand," the teenager replied, gesturing Lincoln to shut up. "If Leni sent you flying here, then that means the girls are too tough for you to stand a chance. So, how about you follow me to the training arena?"

With that said, Lana immediately nodded and ran straight to Carol's house, followed by her twin sister and Lincoln, who couldn't help but look at Carol as she guided them inside. Once there, they immediately went to the backyard, where they found a bunch of large punching bags modeled after people the Louds disliked or hated, like Tetherby, Chandler, and so on.

Alongside those punching bags, there were some obstacle runs regarding blinding lights, and sewer-like obstacles like alligators, poisoned water, and alligators swimming in said poisoned water.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" Lana remarked as Lincoln and Lola went to the punching bags and obstacle course. "Did you make this all by yourself?"

"No, not really, Leni and... Lori... Helped me make this place," Carol looked away and hesitated at Lori's name, and she frowned and looked at the ground before she returned to her cheerful tone. "Now, how about you go deal with your obstacle course? I'll fight with you later. Maybe."

The tomboy nodded and went to deal with her obstacle course while Carol, returning to her sorrowful mood, went back inside her house and sat on the couch as she turned on the TV... Where she saw Other-Maggie lifting a bruised Leni by the neck, while a news anchor stood next to them. And with that done, Lincoln reunited with the twins.

"You know, girls? I've been thinking about this whole team thing we got going on," the white-haired boy started, immediately. "I'm not saying we should disband it, quite the contrary, we should keep it! But we should change priorities."

"Change priorities?" Lola repeated, raising an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"Now that we actually have a way to train our bodies, maybe we could focus on dealing with your and our sisters' counterparts, rather than the ítems," the boy explained, causing the twins to flinch. "If we get the ítems too, that's good too, but we must first and foremost focus on defeating the counterparts as efficiently as possible."

"Are you sure that's a good idea, Linc?" Lana asked, earning an "it's not?" look of confusion from Lola. "What makes you think next time is going to be any different?"

"Listen, you two work as a pair," Lincoln put a hand on Lola and Lana's shoulder. "As long as you work together, and also train, you'll be able to beat them with ease. But for now, I need you to answer me, do you wanna change priorities?"

The twins thought about it for a moment, then promptly nodded. "Okay, let's get back to training, and then I'll tell Luan about this."

The siblings nodded and returned to their training methods, though Lincoln felt hesitant somehow. Almost as if he could help elsewhere. But as far as he knew, the best way he could help would be to grow stronger, so he simply ignored the feeling and continued beating the stuffing out of Chandler's dummy version.

 _Back at the brawl..._

"Just like the mysterious angelic girl and twin doppelgangers yesterday, today we have a teenage girl being beaten up by a pair of girls whose facial identities are obscured by strange masks with a tilted "L" right where their eyes should be," the newswoman remarked before turning to Other-Maggie, catching her attention. "Excuse me, mysterious masked teenager, what can you tell us about this situation?"

The masked girl turned to the camera and stared at it for a couple seconds... Right before she waved her free arm and chirped, "Hi mom!" with her robotic monotone. And of course, once the shock of the news broadcast wore off, Carol wrote a note, put it on the couch and ran as fast as she could to help Leni.

Back at the fight, Leni regained her composure just as she was sent flying to a tree, quickly enough to block Other-Haiku's incoming attack and send her right back at Other-Maggie with a kick. However, the masked teenager simply smacked the masked goth away and immediately dashed straight for Leni, who managed to block a punch and kick right before the teenager kneed her chin, sending a couple of her teeth flying off into the distance.

And as the fight continued, the news anchor and the camera crew followed and reported about the scene. "And as you can see, the masked teenager is fighting against another teenage girl, so we advice you to stay out of the road between the school and supermarket, to not get caught up in the brawl,"

And then Other-Haiku crashed right next to her. "Excuse me, young masked girl, can you tell us anything about you and your companion's motives for fighting this teenager?"

The girl took out a pen and paper, wrote something on it and then revealed it. The only thing on the paper was "NO" written in bold letters. With that shown, she threw the paper away and returned to the fight.

"Well, I heard actions say more than words, but this is ridiculous," the newswoman told to the viewer. "But anyway, remember to stay away from the direction mentioned underneath to not get caught up in the fight-"

And then a combined flash of seafoam green and light blue flew past the newswoman, who tried to stop her skirt from blowing up while shouting "Oh great, what now?!" in clear annoyance.

Her answer came in the split second between the Maggie and Haiku lookalikes getting ready to attack Leni, and them being grabbed by a pair of arms coming from two portals that opened out of nowhere. Then the mixed light landed in front of Leni and revealed herself to be Carol, with both arms currently stuck inside two portals that looked very similar to the ones holding the copycats hostage.

"C-Carol?! W-What are you doing here?" Leni asked as she tried to stand up, only managing to stabilize herself with Carol's assistance. "Shouldn't you be training with Lincoln and the twins?"

"I saw how badly they were beating you up on the news, and I just couldn't stand back and let the beating continue," the teenager answered, before seeing Leni's limp broken arm flail a little. "They messed up your arm real bad, huh? Go see Lori about it, I'll deal with these two."

"But-"

"Leni, trust me."

And though she remained silent for a moment, Leni's answer quickly came when she nodded, gave Carol a grateful smile, then flew away while Carol cracked her neck-with some pain included-then stared at the pair as they tried desperately to free themselves... And then she spoke:

"Do you know how angry I am with you two?!"

Surprisingly enough, not only did this statement made the Maggie and Haiku impostors flinch, but they were seemingly caught off-guard as well. Not only that, but the newswoman and camera crew were equally dumbfounded. Probably due to the whole portal thing.

"I mean, I already had to deal with not only a quartet of mutated frogs yesterday, but now, I have to train three children to help them know how to defend themselves just in case some jerks decide to beat them up for their lunch money or something, and then you two come in and force me to put that on hold just to stop you two from beating her up even further!"

"Uh, what's going o-" the newswoman blurted.

But Carol didn't even seem to realize they were there. "And you broke her arm! Her flipping arm, are you serious?! You're very lucky that there's a way to fix her wounds, otherwise, I would've flipping broken your arms in return!"

The lookalikes shivered and backed away as Carol walked forward to them. "Now listen up very well, you two, I'm going to go back to train the kids, and I don't want you to deal with my friend Leni again, 'cause if you do, then may the heavens have mercy on you because I certainly won't! And with that, you're grounded, so get out of here!"

"B-But-" Other-Maggie stuttered.

"I said you were grounded!" Carol promptly released the copycats, then charged a pair of energy blasts right at their faces as she finished with, "Now get out!"

Not wanting to anger the girl any further, the lookalikes immediately nodded and flew away from the scene in a panic. And with that done, Carol calmed down, took out her arms from the portals-which blinked out of existence soon afterwards-and then waved to the camera crew, "Hey, you can go back home or whatever now! Just act like nothing happened!"

And the newswoman didn't even answer back, she just went back to the truck alongside the crew and left the scene as quickly as they came, all while Carol waved them goodbye. Once they were out of sight, Carol's forced cheerful disposition vanished and she flew up before going all the way back to her house.

 _Meanwhile, at the McBrides..._

Clyde was checking out a tarot deck when he heard somebody knock the door. So he picked his cards, saved the deck in his pocket, then opened the door to find a surprisingly worried Haiku outside.

"Hi Clyde," the poet greeted, twiddling her fingers. "Are you busy right now?"

"No, I was just trying to figure out how the tarot deck works," Clyde answered as he revealed his tarot deck to Haiku, who didn't seem that surprised about it. Maybe she was too worried to care. "Lincoln told me that Lucy sometimes uses these things and-"

"Clyde, I don't want to be rude, but I don't have much time, I need to tell you something," the poet stated, catching the nerd's attention. "Will you listen to me?"

After a couple seconds in silence, Clyde nodded as he put his deck back on his pockets. And so, Haiku explained herself:

"Listen, I'm going to Maggie's house in order to try and turn the tide of the whole "Lucy's-Teacher Fiasco", and I was wondering if you could come with me. You see, I'm not even sure if Maggie has prepared something to try and sway Lucy to her side. It's not that I don't trust Lucy, but after what she said last night... I'm just worried I might lose Lucy to her. And since I don't know if I can bring anybody else, I was wondering if you could come with me?"

It wasn't even a second before Clyde put a hand on Haiku's shoulder and, with a reassuring look, stated:

"I'm coming, let's go."

Soon afterwards, Haiku's frown instantly turned into a smile as she hugged Clyde, then grabbed him by the waist with one hand, and his back with the other.

However, the boy immediately stopped her there. "Whoa, hold it right there, what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to lift you so I can carry bridal style to Maggie's house," the goth nonchalantly explained. "You know, a reversal of how the guy is supposed to carry the girl that way?"

"Are you sure you can even do that?"

"I'm so happy and relieved, I think it's worth a shot!"

So Haiku tried to lift Clyde to carry him bridal style, but despite looking quite thin, the geek proved to be far heavier than Haiku expected. She tried her hardest, but after trying and trying to lift the boy, all that came out of such big effort... Was a fart. Which made the duo blush.

"I think it's better we just walk there," Clyde remarked, rubbing the back of his head.

"Y-Yeah, that sounds good," Haiku said, covering her face.

"Do you mind if I go ahead of you?"

"Please do."

And then Clyde called, "Dads! I'm going to go out with a friend of mine!"

And they answered from afar, "Remember to return before it gets dark!"

Clyde said "sure!" in return and he and Haiku immediately went to Maggie's house.

 _Meanwhile, with Bobby..._

The young man looked around as he ran all across the park, hoping to find Lori amongst the surprisingly empty location. Eventually, he managed to find her, sitting alone in a bench... And without her phone in hand. This alone was enough to greatly worry him.

"Lori, baby!" Bobby exclaimed as he reached the young woman, who turned to look at him as he stopped to catch his breath. "Babe, I've been trying to call you for hours! Why haven't you answered my calls?!"

"How would I know if you were calling me?" Lori asked incredulously.

"I called your phone!" Bobby exclaimed.

"...Phone?" Lori asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Bobby, you know phones shouldn't be used for menial things like talking at random."

"L-Lori?"

"They should be used for other things, and only to talk when necessary!"

"B-Babe, you're legitimately scaring me now-"

"Come on, Bobby, sit down with me, and let's talk,"

Then, with a sly look, Lori finished with:

"Without our phones."

Bobby screamed in pure shock and horror... At least until he immediately woke up, and found himself in the middle of the living room, resting on the couch. "It was a bad dream..." the guy remarked, clutching his head. "A really, really bad dream... Oh thank the lord..."

Then, the guy spotted his phone, and remembering he had yet to call Lori, he reached for it and tried to message her. However, the instant he turned it on, he saw he got a message from Lori. He opened it, and this is what it said:

"Bobby, I'm just going to be blunt with you, because I want to point this out before it becomes a problem for both me and you. Mostly me. Look, I've noticed that I haven't talked with you on the phone for a while, and before you start writing me a message wondering how I'm doing, then I'm doing fine. Yes, I kinda got into an issue with one of my sisters, but that's none of your business. Point being, I would appreciate it if you went one single damn week without calling me on phone. Because while I'd love to chat with you about random topics 'till the heat death of the universe..."

Then, the final part of the message left the guy speechless:

"I have literally a million better things to do."

Baffled by the message, Bobby put his phone down and rubbed his forehead, wondering:

" _Babe, what's going on over there?_ "

 _Meanwhile, back at the Loud house..._

Lori walked back and forth at the living room, arms folded behind her back. As she did this, she heard Luna and Luan talking with Lucy, who was apparently asking them to hurry up so she could go to Maggie's house already, an opinion shared by the eldest Loud.

" _When are those two going to be finished with Lucy?!_ " she thought, glancing at her wristwatch. " _Leni's counterpart is going to send the next prototype any second now, and she hates to be left waiting!_ "

And then, with almost no warning, Leni opened the main door and went inside, closing it just as Lori noticed her arrival. "What are you-" and then she noticed her arm. "Oh my-!"

However, the young adult quickly covered her mouth, remembering that Luna and Luan were busy at the moment, and the last thing she needed at the moment was for them to meddle into this mess. So the two left the house, and flew to the hospital.

"What happened to your arm?" Lori inquired, wincing at the sight of the flailing arm.

"A pair of chain breakers appeared in our way, and I had no choice left but to fight them," Leni answered, looking down in regret and slight fear.

"T-The chain breakers are supposed to be Carol's deal, not yours!" Lori stated, her tone turning from worried to angry. "What made you think you could actually deal with them on your own?!"

"Nothing did! I was, like, taking Lincoln and the twins to Carol, then the breakers appeared, and I threw them away and stood behind to fight them!" Leni argued in return.

"Maybe this'll teach you to think twice before doing something stupid like that, then!" Lori argued, showing no sympathy for her sister. "Seriously, wouldn't it have been far better that you threw the trio and then ran away as fast as you could from there?"

Notably offended at the remark, Leni scrunched her face and looked like she was about to cry... Right before she calmed down and shot a glare at Lori's direction.

"You know, Lori? There's, like, a sad bit of truth concerning mistakes. In your case, it's _when_."

However, Lori didn't seem to be that affected by the statement. Not externally, anyway. "Let's just get to the hospital as fast as we can."

The ditzy fashionista rolled her eyes and the duo continued to fly their way to the hospital.

 _Back with Luna and Luan..._

The rocker narrowed her eyes as she checked out Lucy's current outfit, which was basically a mime version of her everyday look. "I don't know, Luan, something tells me you went overboard with the mime theme," she remarked, checking Lucy out one more time.

"What are you talking about? It's perfect!" the comedian answered. "Maggie enjoyed my mime performance in her birthday party, so she obviously likes mimes!"

"That doesn't make any sense," the goth quickly pointed out.

"Do you want to look good for your visit or not?"

"I don't know..."

The goth looked at the ground and took a deep breath, with the atmosphere growing uncertain and worried as Luna and Luan realized that maybe, just maybe, Lucy needed someone to talk with. And since Luan wasn't the best person to talk about issues, Luna was the one who broke the ice:

"Lucy, what's wrong?"

The goth, seeing this was a chance to explain herself, took a deep breath and said:

"I just... I was growing tired of practicing my poetry on the vents, so I decided to try and train under my friend Haiku, who's a poet herself. However, during one of our training sessions at the park, we went to a "cheer up" party of sorts, and there I met Maggie. Unlike Haiku, who disapproved of me focusing primarily on sad and dark matters and wanted me to have more variety, Maggie thought I was just fine and what I needed was not to change my style, but to change teachers. Now, I have to go to her house to decide and I don't know who to pick."

"I see..." Luna scratched her chin and thought about it for a moment before she gave Lucy a blunt answer. "Listen, Love, I'm going to be perfectly honest with you: You're looking at this the wrong way."

"What are you talking about?" the goth inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, you have to choose between Haiku and Maggie, right?" Luna asked, earning a nod from her younger sister. "Instead of looking at this choice as who you're going to pick as a poetry teacher, think of this as you choosing how you're going to be in the future."

The goth looked at the ground and scratched her chin in contemplation. Luna's words did ring some truth to them: She probably should take another approach to picking who would teach her poetry. But on the other hand, could she really see Maggie and Haiku as who she could become in the future?

In Haiku's case, she was a friendly person... If you watched your manners and didn't act like an annoyingly cute sweetheart. She didn't exactly like people like that, specially if they smiled a lot. However, she was also a very stern teacher, and very difficult to please too.

And in Maggie's case... She was a complete mystery. Her age, what she liked, how good she was concerning poetry, everything about the teenager was a complete enigma to the goth. So really, if Lucy picked her for a poetry teacher, she was essentially going blind.

Luckily, though, just as the goth started to feel overwhelmed by her choices, Luan butt into the conversation. "Luna's right, Lucy, just think about it: If you pick Maggie, you could gain a notable bust when you're 13, and if you pick Haiku, maybe you'll start showing one of your eyes!"

Though annoyed at the response, the goth couldn't help but laugh. Specially since she needed a good joke right then and there.

"But in all seriousness, this is something you have to think about carefully," the prankster added, right before she got an idea. "Actually, come to think of it, how about I come with you? Maggie and I have been keeping contact ever since her birthday party, and while I talk with her, you could discuss things with that Haiku friend of yours!"

Normally, in any other situation, the goth would've turned down the comedian's offer. However, once she thought about it, maybe bringing Luan wasn't such a bad idea. After all, the comedian and Maggie did seem to know each other, and if Luan could distract Maggie for a moment, then it would give her more time to think about her decision.

"Sure, Luan, I'd be happy if you came with me," the goth finally answered, putting on a smile.

Though surprised at the response at first, Luan soon returned it and almost looked like she was about to cry. "Can you please take me to Maggie's house?" Lucy requested as she took out her poetry book and pen from her back.

"Yes... Let's go," the prankster stated with a nod.

And so, the duo left the room and then the house before heading straight to Maggie's house, with Lucy clinging to Luan's arm as she felt that this probably wouldn't go wrong now that she had some company, right?...

Right?

 **-Next Chapter Preview-**

And as Maggie's ensuing smug smile proved, Haiku wasn't wrong. "Hey, little brat, don't stop the boy from acting polite," the emo told the poet, flicking her in thee nose. "After all, if there's one thing kids these days need to know more about, is how to treat their seniors with proper respect! Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from him!"

"You're not that much older than me! That's what I think, anyway," Haiku growled, slapping away Maggie's hand. "B-Besides, I brought Clyde to be my support, not yours, so don't try to use him for your own plans!"

The emo rolled her eyes as Clyde and Haiku went inside. Then she closed the door and walked to the window, when she realized someone was missing.

"By the way, did you manage to see Lucy on your way here?" Maggie inquired, checking out the street from her window. "I'm pretty sure she should've arrived here a while ago."


	17. Worst Feeling Ever

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Leni wound up getting her arm broken until she was saved by Carol, who easily scolded the doppelgangers into leaving her alone. On other news, Haiku convinced Clyde to come with her to serve as a chaperone, Lori took Leni to the hospital, Bobby grew even more worried when Lori sent him a distressing message, and Lincoln and the twins started their training.**

 **What will happen now? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Atmosphere Grows Anxious! A Demon is Summoned?!**

* * *

 _At Maggie's house..._

The emo teenager settled some snacks and drinks at the table: Potato chips, coke, stuff like that, as she hummed a little tune. The tune, despite being hummed by an emo, actually sounded somewhat cheerful and upbeat. And as she hummed that tune, the emo's mother

"Alright, these should be good enough," the emo teenager remarked as she checked out the table. "Now, as long as Lucy gets here first, and Haiku doesn't find her way until much later, convincing that little emo girl to become my student should be no problem!"

Then she raised her fist and shouted, "Let's see how you can top this, Haiku!"

And then Maggie was approached by her mother. "Hi mom, sorry, but I'm not available at the moment," the emo nonchalantly answered. "If I want things to go my way, I need to prepare literally everything so nothing goes wrong!"

"I know that, but I wanted to know if you could spare a couple minutes listening to an interesting sentence I found online, before I go out to work." the woman explained, then clasped her hands. "Can you do that?"

The teen girl took a deep breath, then stopped her preparations, turned around and folded her arms with a stoic, almost annoyed deadpan look. And so, her mother spoke:

"As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives."

Maggie's eyes grew wide shortly afterwards, and she scratched her chin as she actually seemed to think about what the sentence was saying. "Wow, that's a very deep, though-provoking sentence."

Maggie's mother smiled and grew a bit more cheerful, but that cheer was taken away as soon as Maggie turned back to normal and stated: "Too bad I neither have an idea what it means, or even give a shit about it."

"Maggie Sw-Maggie! Watch your language!" the mother snapped, while her daugther looked away and frowned. "Look, I told you the sentence to try and convince you to both cut it out with the whole "poetry student" issue and move on from what happened with... You know who!"

The emo raised an eyebrow. "Okay, let's assume the main issue is the poetry fiasco, because right now "He" is not a person that should be talked about in this house."

The teen girl turned around and shot a glare as she asked, "Why would you wait until now to do something about it?"

"I didn't! I tried telling you to stop it for a while now!" the woman quickly countered, stomping the ground. "But you've been so stubborn it's like it comes in one ear and goes out the other!"

Maggie and her mother rolled their eyes in unison, right before the woman said:

"You're acting just like Mick did back then."

Upon hearing that, the teen girl shot a glare that was basically demanding her mother to take her words back. And yet, she didn't falter:

"No, Maggie, I'm not taking the truth back! You've been incredibly stubborn concerning this whole poetry fiasco, saying how you need to do this and that to get this Lucy girl as your student, but not only do you ignore or outright forget when I tell you reasons it's a bad idea, but you don't even bother to give me an explanation! Ever since you told me about the issue, I've been asking you to explain why it's so important when you don't even care about poetry that much, but you just ignore the question! You're doing the exact same thing he did: Put one menial thing as your main priority and ignore everything else, without even explaining yourself or taking into account the feelings of other people!"

Maggie narrowed her eyes and sat on the couch, clearly not in the mood to talk with the woman anymore. And the sentiment was shared, since her mother had far better things to do than argue to someone with deaf ears.

"I'll be out working for a while, and won't be coming back until night," the woman said as she walked to the door. "Can I trust you won't get into trouble?"

"I can take care of myself just fine!" the emo teen snapped, her voice cracking as her mascara started to run down. "Get out of my face already, you passive-aggressive, worthless whiny whore!"

Clearly offended at her daughter's words, Maggie's mother narrowed her eyes and left the house slamming the door hard enough to cause the whole place to shake. Luckily, it didn't ruin Maggie's arrangements, but at that point, the emo teen didn't really care.

She walked to the nearest bathroom, then washed her face to hide her tears as she started to cry her heart out. Not that it mattered, since once she cleaned herself, Maggie's eyes looked just as droopy and downbeat as when she had her mascara on.

"I'm not like Mick Swagger! I'm nothing like him!" she growled, throwing the towel away in rage. "He abandoned me thanks to what the rocker told him! He betrayed us for a girl he didn't even know that well! I'm just a victim who suffered by his hands, while he left to enjoy the good musician life and never came back! We're not alike!"

Maggie's top portion of her hair went down and covered her eyes, looking just like Mick's signaure hairstyle. And just as she put her hair back up in a panic, she heard the doorbell ring, no doubt annoying her even further.

" _Great, as if I needed even more pain in my ass today,_ " the emo thought as she walked to the door and grabbed the doorknob. " _I swear, if Haiku is outside_ -"

Once she opened the door, she saw Haiku really was outside... With Clyde right next to her. Rather than being angry, Maggie was more along the lines of exasperated.

"Well, I gotta give credit where credit's due, I didn't think you'd come with some company," the emo said, narrowing her eyes. "Care to explain what's Blackjack doing here?"

Clyde immediately looked around for this "Blackjack" Maggie mentioned, only for Haiku to give him a blunt answer: "She's talking about you."

"Oh, well, I'm a chaperone of sorts," Clyde answered as he bowed down.

This earned him a slap from Haiku. "Don't bow down to her!" she scolded. "You're going to feed her ego!"

And as Maggie's ensuing smug smile proved, Haiku wasn't wrong. "Hey, little brat, don't stop the boy from acting polite," the emo told the poet, flicking her in thee nose. "After all, if there's one thing kids these days need to know more about, is how to treat their seniors with proper respect! Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from him!"

"You're not that much older than me! That's what I think, anyway," Haiku growled, slapping away Maggie's hand. "B-Besides, I brought Clyde to be my support, not yours, so don't try to use him for your own plans!"

The emo rolled her eyes as Clyde and Haiku went inside. Then she closed the door and walked to the window, when she realized someone was missing.

"By the way, did you manage to see Lucy on your way here?" Maggie inquired, checking out the street from her window. "I'm pretty sure she should've arrived here a while ago."

"Heh, maybe she's already here and we just haven't noticed. So, all we would need to do is act like she's not here, and then she'll let us know she's nearby by suddenly speaking, therefore freaking everybody out!" Clyde explained, earning looks from the goth and the emo. "That's kind of her thing, really."

"Problem is, Lucy knows that I really don't like that, so she wouldn't really do it," Haiku argued, crossing her arms. "I hate random pop-ups just as much as I hate people who smile a lot."

"Oh really?" Maggie quietly remarked as she marked something in her phone.

 _Meanwhile, with Lucy and Luan..._

The duo took a stroll through the park, with Lucy looking around while Luan hummed a little tune. And then they spotted Giggles nearby, trying to save some balloon animals on a suitcase. "Oh, hi Luan!" the clown girl greeted upon seeing the pair.

"Hi Giggles!" Luan greeted back. "Getting ready to go somewhere?"

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to go to Maggie's house," the clown girl punched the balloon animals into the suitcase, then closed it, seemingly successful in her packing. "I thought I could help Haiku with her deal with Lucy. Plus, I could also try to bring some help in regards to Maggie, since we've met before."

"Well, that sounds-"

Suddenly, Luan's phone rang.

"Hold on a second."

The comedian checked her phone... Then closed it with a stern look. Soon afterwards, she tightened her grip on Lucy's arm, then immediately bolted out of the park at such speed, the resulting wind was strong enough to blow everything away.

 _Back at Maggie's house..._

Everybody heard loud stomping approaching the house, which grew louder and louder until somebody literally kicked the door open. This door-kicker was none other than Luan, whose eyes were yellow and bloodshot, holding her phone in one hand and a terrified Lucy on the other.

"L-Luan, please calm down!" Lucy pleaded, crawling up to her sister's furious glare. "I'm sure t-there's a logical explanation behind the message!"

And then Luan barked like a dog straight to Lucy's face, causing her to fall off and shiver in fear while Luan literally stomped her way to Haiku, grabbed her by the neck and lifted her. She then revealed her phone to the girl, showing her face with the message "She's racist against smiles!" underneath her.

"How dare you be racist against people who smile?!" Luan hissed, baring her sharp teeth.

However, once Haiku slapped the comedian in a desperate attempt to free herself, Luan flinched and released her right before she suddenly turned back to normal, followed by her looking around in confusion. "Huh? What happened?" she asked, scratching her head. "When did I get here?"

"Comedian!" Maggie exclaimed as she walked, then hugged, Luan. "It's been so long! How has life been treating you?"

After a couple seconds in shock, Luan returned the smile and answered, "It's been fine, I guess. I hope you don't mind me coming along, I figured that Lucy might need some support, so I decided to come with her."

"It's not an issue, old annoyance-I mean, old friend," Maggie replied before giving Haiku a smug glare. "It's not an issue at all."

Haiku clenched her teeth and growled right before Clyde asked, "Are you really racist against smiles, Haiku?" while Lucy crawled to them. "Not that I'm implying I think you are, but-"

"No, I'm not! I just don't like it when people smile too much or for too long. It just doesn't feel natural," the gothic poet clarified, before shooting a glare at Maggie, who was giving her a smug grin. "Specially in her case!"

"H-Hey," Lucy blurted, scaring Clyde, but only temporarily surprising Haiku, who shot a glare at her in return. "I didn't knew you were bringing Clyde with you. Not that I mind, but you could've told me."

"Yeah, sorry, it was something of a last minute thing, and I didn't really have the time to tell you anything..." the gothic poet scratched her head and looked away as she tried to find some topic to discuss, only for her to remember something. "Did you bring your pen and poetry book?"

The gothic girl revealed her pen and poetry book with a smile. "Excellent!" Haiku exclaimed, gaining a smile as well. "Did you also decide who you're going to pick as your poetry teacher?"

Lucy's smile turned into a frown. "Still having trouble with that, aren't you?" Haiku went closer to Lucy and brushed her shoulder in sympathy. "It's okay, I understand this is an important decision, so of course it would take you a bit more than three days to decide who to study under. That being said, there must be a way we can help you decide..."

Once she heard that, Maggie pushed Luan away and walked to Lucy's side, wherein she brushed her hair as she said, "I hate to admit it, but the gothic poet is right, we need to help you decide right here, right now," then she grabbed Lucy's arm and dragged her deeper into the house. "So, how about you follow me and-"

However, Lucy soon broke from Maggie's grasp and returned to Clyde, who comforted her while Haiku sternly told the teenager, "Lucy doesn't have to decide right away! We need to let her rest, and think about it some more."

Unfortunately, Maggie wasn't having any of that jazz. "Listen up, you little brat, we established earlier that she had several days to decide who she would pick as a poetry teacher!"

"Yeah, she did, until you decided to sped it up just to get an advantage!" Haiku snapped in return. "If anything, it's your fault she can't decide right now!"

"Don't go around blaming me for the kid being an indecisive sack of sadness!" the emo hissed, coming face-to-face with the gothic poet. "The day limit has expired, and by this point, she should already have picked the best teacher for her, and throw the other one straight into the garbage bin, right where you belong!"

Then Maggie grabbed Haiku by the neck of her dress and lifted her, while Luan and Clyde approached them in an attempt to prevent the situation from escalating any further. "C-Come on, girls, don't fight in front of Lucy!" Clyde exclaimed. "You're not helping her at all!"

"Y-Yeah! You should know by now that violence doesn't always solve problems, Maggie," Luan added, forcing a clearly nervous smile. "How about you calm down and-"

"Both of you be quiet!" the emo teenager shouted before smacking the duo...With Haiku. Though naturally, the girl wasn't really useful as a smacking weapon. "You're nothing more than a pair of chaperones! You don't have a say in this matter, and you weren't even supposed to be here! The one that does..."

The emo turned to Lucy, who clutched her chest as she felt her heart skip a beat. "Is her!" then Maggie walked to Lucy, who backed away until she had no escape. "Now, Lucy, how about you stop wasting everyone's time, and pick one of us already?"

Then, just as Lucy got ready to give a rushed answer, Luan got up and restrained Maggie while Haiku freed herself from the emo's grasp, using an ancient technique only known amongst children: biting her captor's hand.

"Maggie, you may have a point, but what you're doing is completely unacceptable!" the comedian stated, somehow managing to keep the emo restrained despite her wild attempts at freeing herself. "You can't just smack people with a kid and then demand an answer from Lucy like nothing happened!"

"Let me go, comedian!" the emo struggled some more, but alas, Luan's grip was too much for her. "Gosh dang it, this is between Lucy, Haiku, and I! What part of "you don't have a choice in this" did you not understand!?"

Luan promptly headbutted the back of the emo's head, then pinned her to the ground while Clyde got up. "The part that somehow justifies what you just did! And until you calm down, I'm keeping you in this position!"

And as Luan basically wrestled with Maggie, Haiku and Clyde comforted Lucy, who actually started to look a bit sick. "It's okay, Lucy," Haiku remarked, gently brushing Lucy's hair. "Your sister already dealt with Maggie, she won't be able to hurt you now."

"I know, I-It's just that..." the goth stuttered, clutching her chest before running to the bathroom. "I-I need to go to the bathroom..."

"Okay, we'll be coming too!" Haiku replied as she got off the couch. "Clyde, let's go!"

"W-Wait, I'm coming too?!" the boy asked, earning a deadpan nod from the gothic poet. "But-!"

And then he got a pair of puppy-dog eyes from her. "Clyde, please."

"Okay, Haiku, but only if you don't pull those off again. They're kinda creepy."

Having reached an agreement, the duo ran to the kitchen while Luan and Maggie continued to wrestle... Just as Giggles entered the house. "Hello, everyone! Here's Giggles to-" the girl shouted before seeing Maggie and Luan in a... Peculiar position. "Arrive at a bad moment, it seems."

 _Meanwhile, at the Royal Woods hospital..._

Lori watched as Leni, looking a bit numb and quiet, walked out of a room with her broken arm in a cast and a doctor by her side.

"Alright, your sister's arm should be able to heal in a couple weeks," he said as Leni wobbled to Lori, who grabbed and helped her get her footing. "However, you must make sure nothing comes close to touching her arm. Otherwise, the damage could become irrepearable."

"Thanks so literally much for your help, doctor!" Lori told the man as Leni put on a smile and nodded. "You don't know how glad we are that you could help us!"

The doctor nodded and went back inside as the girls headed for the exit. However, while they did that, Lori glanced at Leni's arm cast and quietly asked, "I don't get it, don't you have Lucy's regenerative factor? Why didn't you just heal your arm?"

"That's not how it works, Lori, remember?" Leni replied with a chuckle. "When it comes to life-threatening, or even life-ending injuries, those heal in an instant. But when it comes to more... mundane injuries, however, those take a little longer than usual to heal."

"Define "a little longer than usual,"

"...Twice as long as it does in general."

"Which means?"

"It'll take maybe a month or so."

Lori pinched the bridge of her nose... Then calmed down. "Alright then, we can deal with that later," she said, brushing her sister's hair. "For now, let's get back home. As long as Carol continues training our siblings, and Luna and Lynn stay the heck away from our room, everything should be fine."

Leni nodded, and then Leni narrowly stopped Lori from dragging her out the window to fly. "Can we pay for a taxi?" the dizzy teenager requested. "I don't feel comfortable flying with one arm broken."

"Oh, s-sure. Sorry."

With that said, the duo left the hospital and went back home through a taxi, Leni taking the chance to sleep in Lori's shoulder. The young adult did notice this, but instead of pushing Leni away, she simply kissed Leni's forehead and brushed her hair as she let her sleep.

 _Meanwhile, with Lincoln and the twins..._

The trio were resuming their training when Carol returned, scratching the back of her head. "Hi everybody!" the young woman greeted, catching the kids' attention. "Sorry if I took a bit longer than usual, the people I dealt with... Were a bit of a pain. Anyway, how have you been doing?"

Suddenly, the trio ran to the young woman, with Lana being the first to reach her. She seemed to be particularly happy to see her return. "Carol! I'm so glad you're back!" the kid plumber chirped as she hugged Carol's leg. "Lola, Lincoln and I have been training ever since your left, and we've grown quite strong! Do you mind if we fought you a little to show you our moves?"

"Eh, I don't know..." the teenager replied.

However, the twins' puppy dog eyes made her think twice. "Fine, you convinced me."

The twins and Lincoln backed away and stretched while Carol put on a battle stance. "Show me what you got."

Lincoln and the twins exchanged nods before dashing straight for Carol, who put on a smile and narrowed her eyes. And once Licoln was close enough, he threw a barrage of punches and kicks at the teenager, who easily blocked them, while the twins leaped in the air and then dashed down, shouting as they prepared to kick Carol.

However, just as Lincoln and the twins' attacks' connected, Carol easily blocked them with only one hand: her thumb, her middle finger, and her pinky. Unsurprisingly, the trio were caught off-guard.

"Come on, guys, be a bit less predictable!" Carol scoffed, right before sending the trio flying away with a stare, featuring her eyes flashing both seafoam green and light blue.

Once they recovered from the stare attack, Lincoln gave the twins a nod and dashed back to Carol, who rolled her eyes and got ready to block... Right before Lincoln started to tickle her. And seeing how Carol hit the ground and laughed out loud, it seemed to be working.

"Oh no, tickles! My only weakness!"

The boy gave the twins another wink, and the pair took the chance to grab hands, then engage in a little fight that soon devolved into them turning into a spinning ball. Once they spun enough, they rolled straight for Carol, who was given a chance to get up with Lincoln suddenly stopped tickling her and got out of the way.

Unsurprisingly, the distracted Carol was struck by the twins' rolling ball and, say, rolled along with it until they crashed into a wall, with the twins kicking her in the gut before jumping away. However, despite doing that, Carol didn't seem to have suffer that much damage.

"I'll give you credit, I didn't see that coming," the young woman remarked as she dusted herself. "But if you were trying to hurt me, I'm afraid it didn't really work."

Accepting the challenge, the twins did their rolling ball attack again while Lincoln cheered them on. However, Carol jumped as high as she could as soon as the rolling ball was about to hit her, causing the twins to crash into the wall and separate.

"Hah! You really think that's going to work twice in a row?!" Carol scoffed. "Better luck next time!"

However, while Lincoln clenched his teeth and groaned, the twins were awestruck by one thing:

"Carol... Are you flying?"

Once they said that, both Lincoln and Carol looked at her to see that yes, she was currently flying in the air. "Oh, uh..." Carol scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "I-I guess I'm flying, yeah, hehe..."

"Can you teach us how to do that?!" Lana asked in excitement.

"Preferrably without you boasting about it right on our faces," Lola added, seemingly unaware that description fit her more than Carol.

"W-What?!" the young woman shouted, almost control of her flying before quickly regaining it. "L-Listen, girls, I would be happy to teach you how to fly in any other situation, but I think you're asking a bit too much out of me now-"

"Why's that?" Lincoln inquired. "You just mocked them and got them into crashing into a wall, teaching them how to fly is the least you can do in return."

"That doesn't make any sense," Carol argued.

"Neither does 90% of the stuff that's happened up to this point," Lincoln argued back. "Are you willing to argue?"

Seeing the boy's point, and not really feeling like discussing this stuff with him, Carol took a deep breath and replied, "Okay, I'll teach you how to fly."

And as the twins hugged and cheered-talk about a weird sight-Lincoln gave Carol a smile and a wink, which the young woman returned, though hers had a hint of worry.

 _Meanwhile, at the Loud house..._

Luna and Lynn were at Lisa and Lily's bedroom, where the little genius checked some blueprints while Lily watched, and Lynn looked like she was suffering from stress overload.

"What do you mean you don't believe us?!" Lynn growled, stomping the ground.

"Simply put, what you tell me is too crazy to believe!" Lisa answered, flashing a glare at the jock. "I mean, Lori and Leni's bedroom just suddenly turned demonic, then fixed itself when you left with the ring? Don't make me laugh!"

"Oh come on, Love, don't say that!" Luna replied, putting her hands on her hips.

"No, seriously, don't make me laugh," the scientist twiddled her fingers and looked away. "My laughter... Isn't a very pleasant sound to listen to. In fact, you could say it's kind of deranged, which is what I'm going for, but-"

"Not your laughter, the fact you don't believe us!" the rocker soon clarified. "I mean, can't you do like the twins fighting their dopplegangers and just accept it happened?"

"Listen, when it came to Lola and Lana fighting themselves, I was legitimately too baffled by what I saw to really see it in any logical sense," the scientist got off her chair and folded her arms behind her back. "This situation, however, has a very easy explanation: you two are so afraid of Lori, your minds are making you hallucinate stuff to justify your fears. I'm telling you, that's what happened."

"And we're telling you, that Lori's room is flipping supernatural!" Lynn exclaimed, before pausing and thinking about it. "Huh, when I say it like that, it does sound hard to believe."

"Well, I can see it in your eyes you don't believe, so I guess there's only one thing left to do," Luna remarked.

"Leaving me alone?" the genius suggested, rolling her eyes.

"No, dragging you along in our investigation so you may see the room for yourself!" the rock star grabbed Lisa's arm as she added, "And besides, perhaps some of the things that could lead you to discovering the big mystery behind this could be there too."

And just as Lynn opened her mouth, Luna closed it and whispered to her ear, "I'm trying to trick her into coming."

"I haven't been able to find any of the items Lincoln needs, so perhaps looking in the house would yield better results," the scientist pondered, before throwing that idea into the mind trash. "But I honestly don't think Lori and Leni's bedroom is a good place to start."

"You know what they say, you always find what you're looking for in the last place you look," Lynn argued as Luna lifted Lisa and hugged her. "Besides, given what you just said, there should be nothing to worry about, right?"

"R-Right..."

Luna and Lynn shared a high five and walked to Lori and Leni's bedroom, all while Lisa couldn't help but have a bad feeling about this.

 _And finally, back at Maggie's house..._

Haiku and Clyde stood nearby the bathroom door of the kitchen, where they could Lucy's cries of agony alongside the sounds of vomiting. Not a pleasant sound to hear, but the duo needed to stay nearby, just in case Lucy required some comfort. Specially when the cries suddenly went quiet...

"Lucy, darling, are you done yet?" Haiku asked.

But there was no response.

"C-Come on, now, don't give us the cold shoulder!" Clyde added, sounding almost like he was pleading.

Still no response.

However, just as the pair were going to do the ultimate sacrifice and go into the bathroom, Lucy suddenly came out of it, blood dripping from her mouth and her hair a frenzied mess. She also looked pale in a sickly way.

"It's not working!" Lucy shrieked, grabbing her hair and pulling it. "No matter how much I hurl in that toilet, I still feel absolutely terrible! And at around the third or so time, I started to hurl _blood_! What is even going on?!"

And then a voice spoke:

"Having a little hard time composing yourself?"

And unfortunately, Lucy could recognize the voice.

"Not you again... Where are you?! W-What are you doing to me?!" Lucy asked in a panic, vomiting some more blood as she was dragged to her knees, her spine starting to feel... Hot. "Why does my back hurt so much?!"

"Listen up, darling, there's something I forgot to mention during our little practice a few days ago," the "demon" answered as Lucy's back started to bulge, with Haiku backing away in horror. "In order for me to access your world, I must come out of a vessel. A mortal vessel. And guess who I picked to be my gate into your reality?"

"P-Please... Please don't!" the girl begged, hitting the ground as the sound of her bones cracking was heard, and the back-bulge became humanoid in shape "You promised me you wouldn't hurt me! That you wouldn't torture me like some plaything!"

"I'm not. If I was, I'd be having fun, but truth is, this is quite possibly the most frustrated I've felt since my imprisonment," the demon answered just as the humanoid bulge stopped growing. "Even years after it happened, I can't move on. Sad, isn't it?"

And then it seemingly grabbed Lucy's spine and played with it a little, cracking some of the bones on the way. "And to be honest, I'm not even trying to torture you. I'm just trying to leave. It just so happens that these bones, and organs too I guess, are blocking my path so badly that I'm basically torturing you by accident. So, really, if anybody's at fault here, it's your own body."

"Just... just please..." the goth pleaded, crying her heart out as she started to feel weak. "Please end it already..."

"...Gladly."

Suddenly, the "demon" burst through Lucy's back, bathed in her blood and leaving behind a gaping hole, while Haiku and Clyde screamed in absolute terror. And what the "demon" did calm them in the slightest: It healed Lucy to the point it looked like she was never hurt at all. And it wasn't long before the goth noticed this and got up, though instead of being relieved, she was only confused.

"I-I don't get it," the goth stuttered. "Why did you-"

Once she turned around, however, she saw the "demon" was nobody other than a lookalike of her, with white glowing dots where the eyes would be. "Wait, what?!"

And then she revealed she had eyes just like her on her palms. "Wait, what?!"

Then the dopplerganger cackled like a maniac as shadow-like matter extended from her and engulfed the house, both inside and out, with it until it was surrounded by a dark grey sphere. "Thanks for letting me into your reality, me!" the Lucy lookalike stated, her voice echoing across the house as she was slowly engulfed by the shadow-like matter.

"But I'm afraid my "I won't hurt you" promise is over," she added as her counterpart, Clyde and Haiku tried to save her from the engulfing matter, only to be thrown away.

Once she was engulfed, the matter dissipated and revealed the lookalike was gone... That is until the lookalike's face appeared on the ceiling, formed out of the matter and with veins all across it's "skin."

"'Cause this is _my_ house now!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

 _Back at Maggie's house..._

Luan, Maggie and Giggles looked around as the house's interior, now covered in goo-ish matter that glew grey, "wiggled" around like jelly, while the sounds of a heartbeat were heard in the background.

"What happened to this place?" Luan and Maggie inquired in unison, causing Maggie to flinch.

"Don't say the same thing I say!" Maggie snapped right at the comedian. "That creeps me out!"

And just as Maggie pushed Luan off herself, Lucy, Haiku and Clyde were thrown from the kitchen into the living room, wherein they dropped on top of Maggie. Then, as the teenage emo pushed all of them off, a small sphere came out of the ground, and exploded to reveal Proto-Lucy inside.

"Well, how do I put this in a way you'll understand?" the prototype goth asked, scratching her chin before snapping her fingers. As in, literally snapping them in half. "All your house belongs to me now."


	18. And Then There Were Fewer

**Before we begin, I'd like to point potential spoilers for "L is for Love", because a character introduced in this chapter will come from that episode. You probably know who I'm talking about, but just in case you SPECIALLY know who I'm talking about, keep in mind I'll try to be neutral towards the whole implications of... Them.  
**

 **Really, if there's anybody who's going to be a problem for them... Well, she's currently trapped in another dimension.**

 **And it's likely she'll gain some company soon.**

 **Anyway, let's move on.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln and the twins finally got to start their training with Carol, after she took care of the chains breakers of course. While this happened, Lori took out a numb Leni out of the hospital, and Lynn and Luna tried in vain to convince Lisa that there was something wrong with Lori and Leni's bedroom, and eventually, they were forced to make her look at it for herself.**

 **And as if that wasn't enough, Lucy's prototype counterpart burst out of her and, after healing her, took possessed all of Maggie's house, right in the middle of more touchy matters.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: The Demon Who Returned Through Trickery! Proto-Lucy's Haunted House!**

* * *

 _At the Poetry Club..._

The poetry club was just about to be filled for the day, while Tabby was adjusting her instrument at the stage. She briefly paused and took a look around, hoping she could see anybody she was familiar with, but alas, the only people she could see were generic patrons.

However, she soon managed to find a particular patron who looked a lot more different than the usual crowd, and now just because she was tall. In fact, her most striking feature was her blonde hair, with one stripe on it that was greenish-blue.

"Sam?" the music fan inquired as she got up and walked to the teenage girl.

Soon enough, the teenager turned around and waved hello at the girl as she saw her approaching. "Hey, Tabby! Nice to see you here!" Same chirped with delight. "How's my little musician doing?"

"I'm fine, waiting for Polly to arrive, but fine nonetheless," Tabby scratched the back of her head. "What about you, though? I thought you were going to pay your friend a visit, and besides, you never visit this place."

"Yeah, and I was planning to go to Maggie's house, but as it turns out, her mother told me that she was in the middle of a neurotic episode, and it would be better if she was left alone for a while," Sam smiled nervously. "As for the second thing, well, there's a first for everything, and I had nothing else to do, so... Yeah..."

Then Sam looked around, and noticed something was... Odd. "Say, where's your girlfriend?"

"Polly's not my girlfriend, Sam," Tabby replied, blushing and rolling her eyes. "She decided to stay at the house of the Santiagos for a little while longer.

"Well, why don't you call her and tell her to come here?" Sam took out her phone. "Look, I'll even let you use my phone! Sure, I've been using it to text this "L" person a lot, but it should have some messages left."

"It won't really work if I do just that," Tabby scratched her chin. "Polly did seem very determined to get to know this Ronnie Anne girl better, so I need something other than playing together at the club in order to catch her attention."

Sam scratched her chin as well, then saw something-more specifically, someone-that gave her an idea. "Hey, that Polly is into sports, right?"

"Yeah," Tabby bluntly answered.

"And she's hung up over this Lynn girl, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes," then the rocker raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

Sam wrapped her arm around Tabby's shoulder, then pointed at the biker girl trio that call Lincoln "Sweet Feet."

"Those three girls are bikers, and I've heard that they're looking for a leader," Sam explained, raising her eyebrows as she added, "Or more specifically, someone to look up to."

With a wink exchange, Tabby soon got an idea and took Sam's phone... Only to find a particular message:

"A little hug leads to a foot rub, then a hot tub-?"

Sam quickly snatched her phone back, left the messages part, and handed it back. "Sorry, you're not supposed to see that. I completely forgot L and I were exchanging song lyrics before."

Curious as to why that was, Tabby nevertheless dialed Polly's number and called her.

 _Meanwhile, back at Ronnie Anne's bedroom..._

Ronnie and Polly were in the middle of playing a dancing game, with Ronnie Anne, quite bluntly, trashing Polly at the game.

"Come on, Polly, give it your all!" Ronnie exclaimed, focusing intently on the screen. "I mean, I thought you were a competitive player!"

"I'm a competitive sports player, Ronnie, but I prefer to save my full stamina for when I'm roller skating or doing sports," Polly answered, rolling her eyes. "And no offense, but playing a dancing game doesn't fit with what I'd call a sport."

"Well, it's just as tiring as one."

"Oh yeah, that's for certain."

Suddenly, Polly's phone rang, and so the roller skater stopped and answered the call... But Ronnie didn't stop the game, rather, she just muted it, and continued to dance.

"Hello? Oh hi Tabby. Yes, I'm still at Ronnie Anne's bedroom, getting my butt kicked by her in a dancing game. Nah, she's neither boasting about it right at my face, nor am I even pulling 10% on this, you know how I roll... What? Really?! Thanks, Tabby, you're a lifesaver! I'll come right away!"

Polly hung up and saved her phone just as Ronnie Anne unmuted the game, which promptly said:

"Winner decided!"

"Wait, what?!" Polly turned around to see Ronnie had won the game. She hit her in the shoulder in response. "You dirty cheater! You're lucky I got better things to do at the poetry club, or else I'd demand a rematch!"

"Whoa, you have to go to the poetry club?" Ronnie asked, earning a nod from the roller skater as she packed her things. "Why's that?"

Polly paused her packing, but just shook her head and continued as she replied, "Well, if you're willing to listen-"

"I am."

Polly paused once more and turned around to see Ronnie, with her hands on her hips, giving her a reassuring smile. So, seeing she was all ears, Polly resumed her packing as she explained herself:

"You see, I'm a little hung up on Lincoln's brother, Lynn. Simply put, our relationship is complicated. But, according to what Tabby told me, she found just the thing I might need to get out of my funk and move on from her."

"Oh really?! Polly, those are great news!" Ronnie gently pat Polly's back as the roller skater finished packing. "Did she tell you what, exactly, the thing was?"

"No, she said she prefers to keep it a surprise for me," then, just as Polly got up, she turned to Ronnie and asked, "Hey, could you give me your phone number?"

"Why?"

"So I can tell you what the surprise was, just in case it's something you need to see for yourself."

The freckled tomboy just rolled her eyes, then exchanged phone numbers with

Then, just before she left, Polly turned around one last time and said:

"You know, Ronnie? On behalf of Tabby, Haiku, Giggles, and I... We're sorry for judging you so harshly before. Now that I've been able to hang out with you, and get to know you better, I can safely say we're cool now. You're kinda, you're considerate, all that jazz, and I'll let the others know about this, got it?"

Ronnie, flattered at Polly's words, clasped her hands and blushed as she answered, "Crystal clear" with a wide smile.

And so, exchanging smiles one more time, Polly left Ronnie's bedroom and closed the door before Ronnie hit the ground, partialy relieved, partially because her legs were too sour from the dancing game.

 _Back at the Loud house..._

Lisa, Lynn and Luna stood in front of Lori and Leni's bedroom, with the genius standing right in front of the door. However, the sheer... Feeling of danger emanating from the room made the brunette rather hesitant to enter.

"Why do I have to go in there?" Lisa shakily asked, giving her sisters a worried look.

"'Cause you said there's nothing to worry about!" Lynn growled in response. "Besides, Lori and Leni aren't even here, so there's no imminent danger if we go inside or not."

"Then why don't _you_ come with me?!" Lisa argued. "You're the ones who had the idea in the first place!"

"Because we're worried something will happen to us, and the only one who needs convincing is you," Luna answered, scratching the back of her head. "And also, we need to watch just in case somebody comes along and tries to see what's up. If there is anybody outside of us left here, that is."

"Would you go in already?!" Lynn shouted, stomping the ground.

This made the scientist barge into the room to escape Lynn's rage, only to regret her decision when she saw the room's interior.

Unfortunately, the first thing she encountered inside was a blurry Proto-Lynn, who leaned against the closet with her arms folded.

"So, you allowed yourself to be convinced to come here, huh?" "First you do endless experiments that more often than not blow up on your face, and now you're letting yourself be bossed around by Luna and my jackass counterpart. Do you simply have no dignity to lose?"

"I wouldn't be losing my dignity in the first place if Lori and Leni didn't have some sort of weirdo room!" Lisa snapped. "Look, I don't care who are you or what do you want, I don't have time to waste with you, so-"

"You're talking just like your counterpart," Proto-Lynn chuckled. "I know I should be happy due to what that means, but honestly, I can't but feel sorry for you."

Lisa paused and blinked twice. "My counterpart? You mean to tell me, I'm starting to turn like her?"

Proto-Lynn nodded. "Very much."

"Just like how Lynn is turning into you, her counterpart?"

"I prefer to be called "The Original Lynn", thank you very much."

"I'm not going to call you that."

"Of course not, 'cause you're an asshole, just like your counterpart."

"Look, I don't know what you may think, but I'm not going to turn out like my counterpart!" Lisa vehemently proclaimed, a statement that simply made Proto-Lynn roll her eyes. "So, if you have nothing else to say, then leave me alone!"

Proto-Lynn chuckled again, only this time, it was almost instantly followed by a furious declaration:

"Fair enough, go ahead, get the thing in the closet, and regret getting it much later, all while your brain decays and rots into an unrecognizable mess of flesh!"

And so, Proto-Lynn's image vanished from existence and left Lisa with an uncertain, and even kinda dreadful, feeling.

Even then, she didn't let Proto-Lynn's words get her down, so she adjusted her glasses and walked forth to the closet... And found it a bit too tall for her to open. Granted, someone like Lynn could probably open it with no problem...

"Curse my vertically challenged nature!" Lisa exclaimed before shouting at the door, "Lynn! Luna! I'm not tall enough to open the closet, so one of you will have to come in and help me!"

"You heard her, Luna, go inside and help her!" Lynn stated, her tone having a hint of fear in it.

"Whoa, hold it right there, Love, I'm not going inside that place!" Luna responded, with an equal hint of fear. "Why don't you go inside while I stay here and do lookout, like last time?"

"I'm not much taller than Lisa, so I doubt I could be of that much help in getting her to open the closet. Last time was purely by luck. What's your excuse?"

"I'm not suicidal!"

"And I'm not stupid enough to count as suicidal!"

"Would you two come in already!?" Lisa shouted, stomping the ground.

"Ugh, do we have to?"

Seeing the girls weren't going to come in willingly, the scientist soon got an idea and smirked. "Hey, I think I found a sports-themed Mick Swagger figurine!"

"Sports-themed?!"

"Mick Swagger?!"

Without warning, Luna and Lynn burst through the door and looked around for the object... Only to discover they were tricked just as the bedroom door forcefully fixed and closed itself. "See?! That wasn't normal at all!" Lynn exclaimed, pointing at the door while she hid behind Luna. "Do you believe us now that this place is cursed or something?!"

"I'll admit that's hard to explain, but we don't have time to focus on that!" Lisa replied, folding her arms. "For now, can you please help me open the closet?"

Luna and Lynn exchanged looks before Lynn pushed Luna forward to the furniture, earning her a glare from the rocker. Nevertheless, Luna promptly opened the closet and the first thing that caught her interest... Was a Mick Swagger figurine.

"Oh wow, there really is a sports-themed Mick Swagger figurine in here," she remarked in surprise before taking a closer look at the object.

"How did I miss it last time?" Lynn questioned, slapping herself in disbelief.

"Although, it seems to be themed after volleyball or wiffle ball," Luna added.

The jock was not impressed. "Well, there's my answer."

Luna turned to Lisa, then grabbed her and lifted her to the shelf with the rings and gemstones. "So, what am I looking for?" the scientist inquired as she scanned the closet.

"Grab a gem and a ring, any gem or ring," Lynn hastily explained as she looked everywhere in the room, fear and worry quite evident in her body movement. "Just do it fast before the bedroom kicks us out or something."

The scientist rolled her eyes and picked a random gem and ring. With that done, the trio looked around and Lisa took a deep breath of relief as it looked like nothing was going to happen. "See? _Nothing_ to worry about."

However, a shadowy figure with the physical features of Clyde-plus a mask-popped out of nowhere and sent the trio flying back to Luna and Luan's bedroom with a single punch.

"See?! _Something_ to worry about!" Lynn exclaimed as the trio got up and dusted themselves. "Anyway, what gem and ring did you pick?"

The scientist reached for her back and revealed the emerald and green ring. "I picked the emerald and the green ring, mostly because I like green the most," Lynn snatched the green ring while Luna looked at the emerald with worry. "Although, if you want to complain about my decision, then you should've told me to pick some specific gemstone or ring instead of telling me to pick a random pair."

And then the emerald started to glow, which Luna and Lisa immediately noticed. Lynn? She was a bit too focused on the green ring. "Lisa, t-try to calm down," Luna suggested as the emerald floated and aimed itself at Lisa's heart. "I've been through this before, it's going to be okay."

The scientist winced as the emerald poked her chest and prepared to insert itself into her heart. "What's it planning to do?"

"I-It won't be for-"

Without warning, the emerald stabbed Lisa hard enough to pin her against the wall, with the 4-year-old screaming in agony as the emerald roughly tried to fuse with her heart. And this time, Lynn managed to notice the situation.

"Whoa, what's going on?!" the jock asked as she saved the ring and tried to pull the gem out.

"Wait, d-don't do that! You're only going to make it worse!" Luna grabbed the jock and pulled her away. "It's only going to be for a couple more seconds! Just wait for a moment!"

"You want me to stand back and wait while our sister is screaming in pain!?" Lynn hissed as she tried everything she could to escape the rocker's grasp. "I mean, now she knows how we feel during her experiments, but still!"

However, a couple seconds later, Luna's words came true: Lisa's screaming came to a halt as the pain ceased, and the emerald merged with Lisa's heart. With that done, the scientist looked in disbelief as her chest promptly healed itself and closed the wound, though her sweater was left with a notable hole in it. Then, she stood up and stretched a bit, feeling like she was never hurt in the first place.

With that done, Luna released Lynn and walked to the scientist's side, all while the jock could only look in confusion. "See, Lisa?" she then put a hand in Lisa's shoulder. "You just had to wait it out and-"

"What just happened?!" Lisa exclaimed in disbelief, before looking around everywhere. "And where did the person who attacked us go?!"

The girls came out of the room and saw that Lori and Leni's bedroom had fixed itself. "Do you believe us now?" Lynn asked, giving her genius sister a stern look.

"Yes," the scientist frowned, partially in annoyance at being proven wrong-and by Lynn, of all people!-and partially in worry. "I have so many questions right now, it's giving me a headache."

Then Luna blurted, "Yeah, I also have a question too: Why didn't you turn into an angelic being of sort like I did?"

Naturally, Lisa found the question... Confusing. "What?"

"Well, you see-"

Suddenly, they heard a car horn outside. "Looks like they came looking for me," Lisa remarked in exasperation.

"Who? Aliens?" Lynn scoffed as Lisa quickly switched clothes and the trio went downstairs. This earned her a jab from Luna.

"No, I called in a friend from somewhere important to take me there," the little genius explained. "I need to discuss something with a couple of fellow colleagues, and I'm taking both the ring and the gem encrusted in my chest. I'm sorry we had to cut this short, but I'm definitely going to try and bring it to my friends' attention. It might be difficult, though."

"Why's that?" Luna inquired, scratching her head.

"Because whenever I try to talk to them about some sort of scientific discovery or whatever, nine times out of ten, I have to bring some sort of proof to its existence or they simply shrug it off!" Lisa threw her arms up in the air and rolled her eyes. "Apparently being a genius prodigy of my own category doesn't change the fact that I'm only four years old! Can you believe it?"

Luna and Lynn exchanged deadpan looks and said "Yes" in a monotone that would make Lucy blush. Embarrassed by their answer, Lisa blushed and quickly went outside, wherein she got on a dark red car, which drove away soon afterwards.

"Thanks for picking me up, I don't think I could've lasted anymore of my sisters' nonsense," the child remarked as she watched the scenery through the window. Then she sat down and twiddled her fingers. "And speaking of which, there's something I need to tell you... Mrs. Johnson."

The woman continued to drive as she told the kid, without taking her eyes off the road:

"Interesting, go ahead, tell me."

 _Back at Maggie's house..._

Luan, Maggie and Giggles looked around as the house's interior, now covered in goo-ish matter that glew grey, "wiggled" around like jelly, while the sounds of a heartbeat were heard in the background.

"What happened to this place?" Luan and Maggie inquired in unison, causing Maggie to flinch.

"Don't say the same thing I say!" Maggie snapped right at the comedian. "That creeps me out!"

And just as Maggie pushed Luan off herself, Lucy, Haiku and Clyde were thrown from the kitchen into the living room, wherein they dropped on top of Maggie. Then, as the teenage emo pushed all of them off, a small sphere came out of the ground, and exploded to reveal Proto-Lucy inside.

"Well, how do I put this in a way you'll understand?" the prototype goth asked, scratching her chin before snapping her fingers. As in, literally snapping them in half. "All your house belongs to me now."

Surprisingly enough, out of all the madness that was currently happening, the thing the team was focusing the most on was the fact there was now _two_ Lucy in the room. Not to say that they didn't notice the fingers snapping, it's just that the other thing was that shocking.

"Okay, now, how do I explain this in a way that makes sense?" ProtoLucy pondered, before lightly hitting her forehead and regenerating her broken fingers. "Oh wait, I can't! So I guess I'll just explain anyway! You see, I'm Lucy, but not the Lucy you know. I'm a different Lucy."

"That's impossible!" Luan proclaimed before dragging Lucy to her side. "You can't be Lucy, because my Lucy is right here! I mean, I could understand if you two shared the same names, but the same appearance? Unbelievable!"

"Yeah, how can there be two Lucies?!" Maggie added. "Or Lucys, or whatever the plural form is supposed to be!"

"Elementary, my dear Maggie, the truth is that there can't be," Proto-Lucy then revealed her free arm, which was basically melting away. "As you can see, my body is melting away the longer I stay in this dimension. And unless I get my ring back, I'm eventually going to fade away right back at the dreaded beforelife I've been imprisoned since the beginning of your time."

"Beforelife?" Lucy repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Well I can't really consider it an afterlife since I'm not dead, and it sucks," the Lucy lookalike argued, right before her glowing eyes turned red and she flashed a sadistic smirk. "Unlike you, who will be dead once I start to get serious!"

Everybody hugged Maggie and screamed in horror, except for the emo herself, who rolled her eyes in annoyance before pushing away everybody. And then someone tried to approach them, she literally hissed at them to go away.

"Don't worry, though, I'm not acting serious. Not now anyway," ProtoLucy clarified, making everybody calm down. "Instead, I think I'm going to try and have fun with this in a clean way. Don't think this doesn't mean you won't get hurt, though. I may be in a good mood, but you're still nothing but vermin to me."

"Wait!" Giggles exclaimed.

Everybody turned to the clown girl, with Proto-Lucy actually looking annoyed at the interruption.

" _Yep, the clown girl's dead meat,_ " Maggie thought, shaking her head.

"Look, I know as much as everybody else about what just happened, that is to say, nothing at all, but hurting everybody with no apparent reason doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do," Giggles walked forward to the unimpressed proto-goth and offered a hand shake. "So, how about we introduce ourselves first? Hi, I'm Giggles."

While everybody else was-understandably-rather shocked at what Giggles was doing, Proto-Lucy's ensuing smile implied everything was going fine. Then the goth shook hands with Giggles... And smirked before forming a blade out of energy and stabbing the clown girl with it, all while she looked straight at Haiku and Lucy.

"You can call me Lucy, and this is what you get for speaking to me like that!"

With that said, the proto-goth threw the suffering clown into the air, then kicked her back to the team, with Luan confronting the other goth while the rest checked up on Giggles... Except Maggie, who just looked at Other-Lucy in...Awe?

"Why did you do that!?" Luan exclaimed, earning a smug smirk from the other Lucy. "She was only trying to greet you in a friendly way and you stabbed her!"

"It's what she deserves for speaking to someone of my rank with such casual tone," the other Lucy was slowly grabbed and engulfed by tentacles rising from the floor. "I'm far above anybody in this room besides you and my counterpart. And if by the end of this little adventure you still haven't learned that, then may Lincoln have mercy on your souls!"

When Luan leaped to attack the anta-goth-nistic girl, Proto-Lucy just... Vanished into the floor before the house transformed to look like a maze, with Luan being stuck with Maggie and the agonizing Giggles. And, without really having anything else to do, Luan lifted Giggles and lead the way while Maggie followed behind, though she was rather notably annoyed at this fact.

 _Meanwhile, with Lori and Leni..._

The pair sat on a table next to the entrance to a carnival, with Leni blankly looking at her empty salad plate while Lori-rather suggestively-enjoyed her hamburger. However, no matter how loud and suggestively she moaned, she failed to get a reaction out of the handicapped teenage girl.

"Are you enjoying your visit to the carnival, Leni?" Lori inquired, glancing at her sister's broken arm before adding, "Did you like your salad?"

Leni just nodded with a forced smile, before turning back to her plate. Eventually, Lori stopped eating altogether and asked, with pure honesty, "Leni, is there something I can do to cheer you up? I honestly hate to see you like this, and-"

Leni looked at the cotton candy stand, then... Just continued to stare at it with interest. "You want to buy some cotton candy?" Leni immediately nodded with a smile. "Well, be my guest."

The young adult handed her sister some money and watched with a smile as Leni smiled and wobbled her way to the stand. With that done, Lori thought about her choices.

" _Let me see: Lisa should have the interdimensional monitor ready by now, so if anything happens with Proto-Lucy, I could check up to her in order to see if anything bad happens. I also have to keep in mind that Lucy and Luan are out there, so I should probably see how they're doing as well..._ "

Even with this in mind, though, Lori couldn't help but feel concerned.

" _But I can't leave Leni behind, though,_ " the young woman turned around and saw the doozy Leni handing some money to the man in the counter. " _Not when she's like this._ "

And then Leni was handed some cotton candy, which she took a bite of... Before a piece of it got on her nose. Then she took out her phone and dialed Carol's number.

"I should see how Carol's doing."

 _Back at Carol's place..._

The teenager spoke with Lori on the phone while Lincoln and the twins flew around the place, with the twins having an easier-and more fun-time than Lincoln.

"I'm just teaching the kids how to fly. No, nothing major, just how to fly, without any add-ons or anything. Yep, just channel energy and levitate, that's what I taught them, sort of. I'm pretty sure Lucy will definitely need training after this is done, and yes, I think I can handle a couple more students under my belt... If I can go see how Luan and Lucy are doing? Sure, I can sense their energies on my own, so I don't need directions. By the way, how's the training with Luna doing?"

The instant she asked that, Lori hung the phone. "Huh, maybe she ran out of messages?"

Then Carol whistled loud enough to catch Lincoln and the twins' attention. "Listen, guys, Lori just asked me to go check up on your sisters, so I have to go-"

"Alright, we're coming with you!" Lincoln and the twins stated in unison.

Carol was understandably surprised at the statement. "Y-You don't have to come me with me if you don't want to-"

"Carol, we've been practicing for a while: We got some moves, and we can even fly!" Lana argued in response. "I assure you, we're not going to be loads you have to carry!"

After a moment in silence and contemplation, Carol just shrugged and said, "Might as well come with company, just in case."

And so the quartet flew as fast as they could to Maggie's house, which in the distance, now looked like a massive castle messily attached to the house itself.

 _Meanwhile, back inside the corrupted building..._

Luan, Giggles and Maggie continued to wander deeper inside the mutated building, with Giggles clutching her bleeding wound while Maggie looked at her surroundings, not in fear, but in annoyance.

"Remind me why are you taking a Clown Girl with us?" the emo teenager inquired in frustration. "Seeing as we're in the middle of a maze, we probably won't be able to find anything to heal her or anything. She's basically a lost cause."

"Maggie, don't call my friend like that!" Luan replied, shooting a glare at the emo. "I mean, she went to your cheer-up party or whatever it was to... Well, cheer you up! Shouldn't you be a bit more, I don't know, polite? It's not nice to call her a lost cause-"

"She was stabbed, across the chest, with a freaking energy sword!" the emo raised her arms alongside her tone. "It's a miracle she's not dead yet! But just give her time, and she'll drop like a fly, with us coming right afterwards!"

"Luan, leave me behind," Giggles weakly requested, clutching her friend's chest. "I made a mistake thinking that goth could be reasoned with, don't make another mistake and take me when I'm a goner."

"See?! Even the little brat agrees with me!" Maggie shouted, pointing at Giggles with her middle finger.

With that said, Luan took a deep breath, then sternly told Maggie, "Now listen up missy, just cause you think your life's terrible doesn't mean you can be jerk! Besides, I've seen enough horror movies to know that separating is the worst thing we could do!"

"By horror movies, do you mean legitimate horror movies, or those comedy movies that parody horror?" Maggie asked. "Because knowing your kind, you're far more familiar with a horror movie parody rather than the real, horrifying deal!"

The comedian rubbed her forehead and shouted, "Does that even matter?! The point is that if we separate, we're definitely dead! So how about you shut up, and we stay together?"

After thinking about it for a moment, the reluctant Maggie followed Luan before suddenly going ahead. "Fine then, I know a shortcut to the back exit."

"But the entire place mutated!" Luan pointed out.

"It's still my house, regardless of what that little copycat said," the emo stopped and slowly turned to Luan, sporting a look of mixed anger and offense. "Are you implying I would be stupid enough to not know how to traverse my own house? Would you rather explore on your own, alone?"

"N-no! That's not what I meant at all! I'm just saying that, since the other Lucy transformed this place, it might not be the same as you remember!"

"...Just shut up and follow me."

The duo obliged and followed Maggie to an enclosed room, probably what used to be the kitchen, where Maggie grabbed a piece of cloth and forcefully covered Luan's mouth with it. However, as the girl dropped Giggles and tried to break free, she noticed a particularly heavy odor coming from the cloth itself.

It was the smell of chloroform.

"Now listen up, you punsucker!" Maggie proclaimed, while Luan slowly lost consciousness and Giggles crawled her way to the door. "Ever since my birthday party, I've been mocked non-stop, first by your brother, or boyfriend or whatever he is almost ruining then, and then with you acting like we were friends, all because my mother told you to act like it! Sending messages to my house, calling me things like buddy and pal! Well, I'm not going to tolerate your nonsense in this life or death scenario! So be a good girl, and stay knocked out!"

Once she finished, Luan fell unconscious and hit the ground just as Maggie noticed Giggles was about to leave. So she grabbed a knife and stabbed the clown girl's hand into the wall. "And you're going to stay here and die!" the emo hissed. "There's nothing that can be done for you anyway. You were nothing but a dead girl walking the moment you were stabbed."

With that said, Maggie left the clown girl to bleed to death... And she barely took about six steps before a knife came out of nowhere just as she raised her hand and stuck her hand to the wall, while Proto-Lucy came out of the wall. "Hey you, what's the meaning of this?!"

"What do you mean? I'm obviously trying to pin you against the wall in order to torture you," Proto-Lucy answered as she checked the knife. "Yep, it's firmly stuck on the Wall, just like how you're stuck in a depressed mood. I can free you from the knife, however..."

Then the proto-goth reached for her back and took out a large chainsaw and turned it on, all while Maggie glanced at it while trying to take the knife out, with very little success.

"It's going to hurt. A lot." Proto-Lucy giggled and turned the contraption on. "But I'm in a merciful mood, so I'll give you about 5 seconds to free yourself from the wall. Otherwise, I'll be the one to free you by force. Five..."

Maggie grabbed the knife and tried to pull it out again. "Four..."

And again. "Three..."

By the third time, the emo was actually crying and silently begging for something, anything to happen before the countdown reached zero, since it became rather clear the knife wasn't getting out anytime soon. "Two..."

Proto-Lucy remained silent and raised the chainsaw, sporting a demented smile. "W-Wait-!" Maggie exclaimed.

"Looks like you need a helping hand!"

The other goth slammed the chainsaw down on Maggie's wrist, with the emo screaming in pain as she felt her bones and skin slowly melt away to the strength of the chainsaw, all while the goth laughed like she was absolutely insane. Which, given what she did before, she probably was. Eventually, though, the wrist was cut and Maggie was freed, though with a large and bleeding wound where wrist used to be.

"Well, that's done and taken care of," Proto-Lucy threw the dulled chainsaw away, which blew up when it crashed on the wall. "Now before we continue, I would like to know if I took out your good hand. I was tasked to do so, and if I took the bad one, I can definitely do this again-"

"It was my good hand! I swear!" Maggie got on her knees and hugged ProtoLucy's legs as she practically begged for mercy. "Just please, for everything that is holy, don't use the chainsaw again! Just leave me alone, I'm nothing more than a bystander stuck in this madness!"

However, once she finished, Maggie was kicked away by the goth hard enough to knock out a couple of teeth away. The emo whimpered and caught her breath as ProtoLucy walked to her, stopped right in front of her... And gave her a smile. A lustful smile.

"You know, your pain and despair is actually pretty entertaining," the goth grabbed Maggie's chin and caressed it while giving her a lustful look, or whatever equivalent she could do with the glowing spots on her hair. "Maybe it's perhaps that, as an emo, you whined about being miserable for so long, that now you're really miserable, but have no way to whine about it. Kinda poetic, don't you think? I might even keep you alive to continue savoring this delightful torment."

"No! Please! Anything but that!" Maggie exclaimed, unaware that this only made the goth even more excited. "I'll-I'll do anything you want! Just leave me alone!"

"Anything you say?" Proto Lucy asked, scratching her chin. "Even if that task was..."

The gothic prototype leaned closer to Maggie's ear and whispered the deal to the emo. However, instead of thinking about it or giving it a second thought, Maggie smirked with a genuine sense of excitement about the idea and stated:

"I'll do it."

Other Lucy and Maggie exchanged smiles as she slowly leaned closer...

"That's a good slave."

Suddenly, the prototype goth kissed Maggie as the floor sprouted tentacles and grabbed her body, followed by... Something coming out of Other Lucy's mouth and invading Maggie's mouth, while the emo tried to struggle... Before giving up altogether...

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Lucy, Haiku, and Clyde walked through the mutated building with unease, unable to find anything that could tell them if they were going the right way.

"This is just great, we have no idea where we're going, and there's some crazy doppleganger of mine trying to kill us," Lucy remarked as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is _exactly_ what I was expecting to happen! Well, not really, but you get the idea."

Hearing the girl's complaints, Clyde and Haiku exchanged looks before the dark-skinned brainiac pointed something out, "Well, maybe we just have to keep going until we find the exit?"

"Clyde has a point, Lucy, you can't give up now that we're technically trapped in this place," Haiku added, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "So, how about you choose which way we go now?"

"Haiku, I agreed to try and choose between you and Maggie, and _this_ somehow happened!" Lucy exclaimed in a blatantly angered tone. When Lucy was being emotional, you know something had to be wrong. "Seriously, it probably would've been better if I had just shut up and remained with you being my poetry teacher, even if you're not the best teacher around."


	19. Betrayal

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Tabby met a familiar figure and convinced Polly to come to the poetry club, while an ominous warning was ignored as Lisa took a ring and gemstone from Lori and Leni's bedroom, and Carol, Lincoln, and the twins put their training on hold in order to go to Maggie's house and provide whatever help they could.**

 **As if that wasn't enough, Maggie did the unthinkable: Killed a human being. But not before doing what she should have done earlier: Knock out Luan. And then, when cornered by Proto-Lucy, the two decided to make a deal so Maggie could remain alive.**

 **What will happen now? Find out next, in Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: First Aggression, Now Betrayal?! Maggie's Brutal Strike!**

* * *

 _Meanwhile, at the poetry club..._

Polly barged into the club and ran after Tabby, who was adjusting her saxophone while Sam was talking with the biker trio.

"Okay, Tabby, I'm here!" Polly remarked, catching the girl's attention as she turned to Sam and said, "Sup, Tabby's sister?"

"Sup, Tabby's girlfriend?" Sam jokingly greeted in return.

Polly was not impressed. "Tabby, where is this thing you said could help deal with my issue with Lynn?"

"Well, it's not so much a thing as it's a group of people," Tabby twiddled her fingers, then revealed the biker trio to Polly. "And it's this group of three biker girls who can help you!"

"I'm Mindy!" the biker girl with the darkest skin remarked.

"I'm Cindy!" the brunette biker girl chirped.

"My new name is a secret, but my older one was Ronnie," the leader finished with a shrug.

Polly was seemingly left speechless, since she wordlessly turned to Sam, who shrugged with a nervous smile, and then Tabby, who promptly tried to explain herself:

"Look, I know this probably won't work that well, and you're not into biking that much, but hear me out: These girls are in look for a leader since Lincoln is far too busy with other stuff, and you're a very dependable leader-type of girl, I thought it wouldn't hurt if you gave this idea a shot."

The tomboy turned back to the biker trio and asked, "Do you really want me to be your leader?"

The girls exchanged looks, and reunited. "What do you girls say?" the leader asked her partners. "Are you willing to try and follow this Polly girl?"

"I'm not so sure, Pravuil," Mindy answered, looking at the ground. "I mean, you know what the high sister said: If you want salvation, you must praise Lincoln at all times."

"Which we probably would've done anyway," Cindy shrugged. "I mean, he's just that much of a nice guy."

"Well, according to the records I've read, this Polly might be the same one from the Sadie Hawkins dance incident," Pravuil remarked, surprising her teammates. "And the high sister also said to treat such people with respect."

"I guess, in that case, having her as a leader wouldn't hurt," Mindy said, with Cindy nodding in agreement.

And so the trio turned back to Polly and the leader proclaimed: "We decided! You'll be our new leader from now on, and you shall be called, Sweet Wheels!"

"That's cool and all, but try not to call me that in public, please," Polly replied, before turning to her partner in music. "So, Tabby, wanna make some music?"

"Not yet, Polly," Tabby glanced at Sam's phone. "I still need to call someone."

"Are you gonna call who I think you're gonna call?" Sam inquired, folding her arms as Tabby fell silent and frowned. "If it's Maggie, and I believe it is Maggie, then don't even bother, she probably won't even answer."

"I just want to check up on her to make sure she's okay," Tabby shot a glare at her sister. "After all, you know what happened last time we decided to ignore her."

Sam took a step back, then frowned and spat, "F-Fine, call her if you want!" before crossing her arms and looking away. "Just be quick, I don't have infinite messages, you know?"

And so, Tabby dialed Maggie's number, and the teenage girl answered... While in the middle of a pitch black... Place.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Maggie, it's Tabby."

"Tabby... Your voice is like a melody to my ears," the emo teenager remarked, sounding genuinely delightful. "I sure hope those patrons at the poetry club appreciate it as much as I do."

"Don't worry, they definitely do. Say, how are things going over there?"

"I'd rather not go into specifics, but just to give you a general idea, I want you to do me a favor."

"Sure, anything."

"Stay at the poetry club until I tell you it's safe to come to my house. We're in the middle of some... Crazy stuff right here, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay... I'm not sure if I should ask, but is Hugh there?"

"You know exactly what happened with him: He remained here for some months, then returned to ENgland in order to continue mooching off the oh-so true fortune of the Swagger ancestor, like the disgusting, sycophantic son of a-!"

"Maggie!"

"S-Sorry, I get really upset and riled up when he's brought into the picture. You should know that."

"I do, and that's why I was reluctant to ask. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Anyway, that's all I have to tell you, stay safe at the club, and don't come here until I tell you. Goodbye."

"Bye."

Maggie hung up and saved her phone... Before flashing a smirk and opening her glowing eyes.

As for the ones at the poetry club, Tabby closed the phone and handed it back to her sister. "Maggie says she's in the middle of some stuff, and that it isn't safe to visit her right now."

"Heh, it's never been safe to visit her," Sam snarled, rolling her eyes. "It's just that this is the first time she outright states it."

Tabby rolled her eyes and then the team were approached by a familiar boy: Silas, Lucy's "datefriend." "Hey, are you two the musicians today?" he deadpanly asked Tabby and Polly.

"Well, yeah, we are," Polly answered. "Who are you?"

"Silas, a patron, and someone who has a busy schedule," the boy frowned. "So could you please leave whatever business you're doing for later and get to playing your music already? Thank you."

The boy promptly left, and Sam didn't pull any punches: "What a jerk."

"But a jerk with a point, we need to start the show before the patrons start to leave," Tabby and Polly took their instruments and they headed to the stage as the rocker told the trio and her sister, "See you after the show."

Sam and the bikers bid farewell, but once the two were gone, the leader of the bikers voiced her thoughts: "You know? Those two look pretty cute together. Close even."

Then, Sam got an idea. "I agree with you... In fact, I wonder if they can come even closer..."

 _Back at the Loud house..._

Luna and Lynn sat on Luna and Luan's bedroom, with Lynn looking at the red ring when Luna suddenly turned to the window and clutched her chest. "What's wrong, Luna?" the jock inquired. "You don't clutch your chest unless you have a bad feeling about something."

"I don't know how, but I get the feeling Luan's energy was suddenly knocked out," Luna walked to the door and opened it. "Not only that, but I feel an energy similar to Lucy's, but more... Archaic, alongside one that feels like a mix between archaic and new."

"Yeah, let's act like I understood what you just said," Lynn replied, rolling her eyes. "What are you planning to do?"

The rocker scanned the area and narrowed her eyes. "...I'm going to go help Luan and Lucy."

"But the house of that girl is probably really far away, it would take you a long time to get there!" the jock pointed out. "Besides, you can't just leave me here!"

Reverse psychology ensued, as Luna transformed into Dumah, jumped out the window and flew straight for Maggie's house, all while Lynn dropped her jaw in amazement. Or confusion. Probably both.

"Huh, I guess I'm alone now..." Lynn remarked as she took a look around... And got an idea.

Soon afterwards, Lynn slid out of the room, in only her underwear and a pair of glasses, and started dancing to a rhytim coming out of nowhere... Up until she fell down the stairs. "I'm okay!" she exclaimed.

And then her prototype materialized at the top of the staircase, and went downstairs as she stated, "But not for long."

 _Back at Maggie's house..._

Lucy, Haiku, and Clyde walked through the mutated building with unease, unable to find anything that could tell them if they were going the right way. Although, if there was one thing that made Haiku and Clyde even more uneasy, was the fact that Lucy talked with her counterpart as if they had met before, which to be honest, also made them a bit curious.

"Hey, Lucy?" Clyde blurted, catching the goth's attention. "So, you talked with your impostor before she came out of you, that sounded very wrong, in a way that makes it seem like you two met before. Care to explain?"

The goth, however, remained silent and sternly continued to walk.

"Lucille, you know that you have some things to explain," Haiku pointed out, causing Lucy to stop altogether. "Now that we're stuck in the middle of nowhere, and your counterpart isn't actively trying to kill us right now, I believe this is the perfect time for you to explain yourself. So do that before it's too late."

Seeing she had no choice, Lucy took a deep breath and promptly explained: "One night, I found a dark book in the attic of my house. It was apparently about summoning demons, so I looked and found one demon called Vine. I did the summoning ritual, exactly as it said I should do it, but apparently I did something wrong and as punishment... My counterpart did something to me, and promised she would one day make me pay even more, and that day was sadly today-"

"You did all of that without even making sure it was safe to do so?!" Haiku snapped, putting her hands on her hips as she gave her poetry student a good scolding. "Lucy, you should know that the dark arts aren't something people can do without regreting it afterwards! what in the world were you thinking?!"

"I wasn't thinking at all, okay?!" Lucy confessed before folding her arms. "It's not like it matters at this point; We have no idea where we're going, and there's some crazy doppleganger of mine trying to kill us!"

The goth pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is _exactly_ what I was expecting to happen when I did the summoning ritual! Well, not really, but you get the idea."

Hearing the girl's complaints, Clyde and Haiku exchanged looks before the dark-skinned brainiac pointed something out, "Well, maybe we just have to keep going until we find the exit?"

"Clyde has a point, Lucy, you can't give up now that we're technically trapped in this place," Haiku added, putting a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "So, how about you choose which way we go now?"

"Haiku, I agreed to try and choose between you and Maggie, and _this_ somehow happened!" Lucy exclaimed in a blatantly angered tone. When Lucy was being emotional, you know something had to be wrong. "Seriously, it probably would've been better if I had just shut up and remained with you being my poetry teacher, even if you're not the best teacher around."

Haiku stopped right on her tracks and gave Lucy a seemingly betrayed look, while Clyde looked around with worry. "Wait, what do you mean by that?" the gothic poet inquired, clutching her chest. "Lucy, do you really think that?"

"Well, if we're going to be stuck in this place, I might as well be honest, right?" Lucy took a deep breath, formed a fist and stated, with the most honest tone her deadpan voice could be, "Haiku, you're a good friend. You dated my brother when I asked you to go with him to the Sadie Hawkins dance, and when the whole fiasco was revealed, you decided to go with Clyde rather than beat him up or shame him for doing so. That, alone, earns you my respect."

Haiku and Clyde exchanged looks and blushed, remembering the time they had together at the dance. Though the fact that Lucy crossed her arms and turned to give her a stern look made Haiku doubt that what was coming next would be good. Even more doubt came when Lucy took a deep breath and shook her head, but she still held hope.

However, it was what Lucy said next that turned her smile into a frown:

"But when it comes to poetry, you're pretty stern. When I picked you as my teacher, I expected the same friendly aura you gave my brother. But then whenever, you just had this... Aura of stern professionalism. Like, you expected me to take this as seriously as possible. Which I probably would've done on occasion, but that, along with the fact you constantly told me to work on types of poetry that I'm not even used to, only made me question whether you were even my friend anymore, or just a teacher."

A quiet sobbing filled the room, which Lucy and Clyde noticed almost immediately. And they found the source just as quickly: The sobbing came from Haiku, who got on her knees and sobbed as her tears streamed down her cheeks and hit the ground.

"Lucy, I... I'm so sorry," the formerly emotionless girl said, who looked at the ground while Lucy crouched down to her height and, behind her hair, she gave her a sympathetic look. She then grabbed Haiku's chin and lifted her head to look at her, face-to-face. "I've been saying that I only want what's best for you, but after what you told me, I'm now wondering if I was taking that into account before this whole mess happened. Perhaps, it would've been better if I had just let you choose, even if you wound up picking Maggie over-"

Then, without warning, Lucy let out a chuckle. "Me? Picking Maggie? No way, I'm staying with you!"

Haiku's sobbing came to a screeching halt, and Clyde started to look around again. "But... Y-You just said-"

The goth put a finger on Haiku's mouth and gestured her to stay quiet and listen. She did this with a smile, a genuine smile at that.

"I know what I said, and I won't take it back just because it hurt your feelings. But I've been able to think about it, both on my own and with my sister Luna's help, and... I'm surprised I had a choice in the first place. Yes, Maggie could wind up being a good poetry teacher, but... She doesn't seem to be the nicest person around. Heck, if anything, she's probably even more aggressive than you, and I definitely don't need such a teacher! And besides, I've known you for long enough to realize that, even if you're a stern teacher, I can still count on you, right?"

Haiku's crying resurfaced, but this time, it was of joy. "R-Right."

Exchanging smiles, Lucy and Haiku hugged and patted each other's back before Clyde caught their attention with a whistle. "What? You think we're kissing or something?" Lucy scoffed, causing Haiku to giggle a little. "Lucy has already somebody on her life, you know?"

The boy blushed. "N-Not at all! It's just that," he looked around once more. "Don't you feel something is... Off?"

"Besides the whole place?" Lucy asked, while Haiku flinched and turned to the wall to their side. "What is it, Haiku?"

"I think I have to share Clyde's worry," Haiku glanced at the wall, then turned back to Lucy. "I get the feeling that, not only is somebody else here with us, but... They're on your counterpart's side-"

Suddenly, Maggie-with her eyes still glowing and devoid of pupils-burst through the wall while shouting "Oh yeah!" in delight. In that moment, Haiku pushed Lucy away and was promptly kicked right in the face by Maggie, with the hit being hard enough to send her flying straight to Clyde. And once the pair were out of sight, Maggie turned to Lucy and laughed as the goth backed away.

"M-Maggie, what's going on with you?!" Lucy exclaimed as the "empowered" emo walked to her, her demented smile frozen on her face. "What did my impostor do to you?!"

"She gave me a second chance to achieve what I desire: Get someone under my belt, get someone who shares my pain, get someone who can finally help me climb out of my endless angst into the real world!" Maggie answered with a surprisingly deep, almost demonic, voice. "And it feels incredible! I feel like I was beyond this world now! Like I was beyond human! But I'm still missing something..."

Then, some purple organic matter burst from Maggie's severed wrist and formed a large blade as she lifted and got ready to attack. Not helping matters was that when this happened, Lucy hit a wall.

"I'm missing you, Lucy! You're the key that will open the door to my rehabilitation! And once I get you, I'll never let you go!"

Back with Haiku and Clyde, the duo got up and recovered while Proto-Lucy burst from the ground and chuckled as she snapped her fingers, not in a literal sense this time, annd caused the hallway to turn into an enclosed room.

"My, oh my, it looks like my little pet has managed to give me the chance to deal with you two by myself," then the proto-goth turned to Haiku and noticed her aura had a faint, grey aura similar to her own, above her pale grey aura.

And then she shot a small orb at Haiku, who was promptly enveloped in a dark grey aura. "Now, I would like to verify something with you."

The proto-goth waved her arm as wildly and as fast as she could to shake the girl, up until the bat-winged headband from before dropped and hit the ground. With that done, the proto-goth literally threw Haiku away and flew to the headband, only for Clyde to block her way and slap her hard enough to leave a hand print on her cheek.

It didn't really do anything else, though.

"Do you really think I'm just going to let you toss my friend like a rag doll and then steal something from her like some bully!?" Clyde proclaimed while ProtoLucy nonchalantly turned to him and shot a cold glare at him. "If you want that headband, for whatever reason, then you'll have to get past me!"

However, instead of being angry or offended at the nerd's intrusion, Proto-Lucy was more along the lines of amused. And even then, she was amused out of pity. "You honestly think you're worthy of being an obstacle?" the proto-goth inquired before grabbing the boy's glasses. "But don't worry, I would never hurt a person with glasses."

She broke the glasses, with some of the shards winding up in her palm, and then slapped the boy-with the shard-encrusted palm-hard enough to send him flying into the wall. "I would hurt them _with_ their glasses, though," she scoffed.

With that done, Proto-Lucy grabbed the bat-winged headband-with some apparent hesitation-and put it on. For a moment, nothing happened.

But then she chanted:

"Oh dear Lincoln, whose name must never be said in vain, and whose grace will save us all from annihilation, let me see what happened in the past. So if I may see you among the destruction, then I'll know I'm still in your grace."

Suddenly, the prototype clutched her chest and spat out blood, while the location changed to that of the original reality, which was currently breaking apart around her while a winged Lucy flew above her, charging some large energy sphere in the sky.

From Haiku's view, however, the girl was just clutching her chest. Not that she paid attention to this in the first place, since she had to help Clyde return to consciousness. "Clyde, are you still alive?" the poet asked as she lifted the boy and gently took out the shards from his face. "You're definitely not okay, seeing as you were slapped with glass shards hard enough to send you crashing into a wall."

"I wish I could look at you when I said I was still alive, Haiku," the boy answered somberly. "But I can't see anything with my glasses."

Haiku caressed Clyde's cheeks, then turned to Proto-Lucy and took out her poetry book. However, just as she ran and jumped with the intent to hit the proto-goth, Proto-Lucy spotted Lincoln appearing in her vision, and she whispered "He has come" right before Haiku smacked her with the book, somehow causing the headband to snap in half and return the prototypical goth back to reality.

With that done, Haiku caught her breath as the goth realized what just happened... But she didn't seem to be angry. She was more... Offended, if the glare she shot at the poet was any indication. "Did you really just do that?" she asked in a stern tone. "Did you seriously, _just_ do that?!"

Haiku promptly got the message and backed away, but this didn't change the fact she had one pissed prototype in front of her.

"Do you know what you just did? Do you know, what this means for you?! For me?! For all of Lincolnism!?"

Then she got up, grabbed a half of the snapped headband and stabbed Haiku with it before sending her right into the wall.

"You have destroyed a holy item, and ruined my vision of the past! Such disrespect towards both those who are superior to you, and to the normal procedures of Lincolnism, are sins that can't be forgiven!"

And she didn't stop there, for the goth started to move the snapped half all over Haiku's insides, causing the girl to scream and spit out blood in pain as she felt her organs gradually rupture from the movement, right before she was firmly stuck on the wall. And Clyde? He couldn't even get to go near Haiku before the prototype goth kicked him away.

"Now stay there, and bleed to death, just like your friend did before you!" the prototype goth ordered Haiku, before kicking the half of the headband deeper inside her body. "A sinner like you doesn't deserve to be saved by our lord and savior Lincoln's grace."

With that said, the prototype goth flew to the ceiling and phased through it like a ghost, with the room turning back into the hallway shortly afterwards. On the one hand, while this let Haiku free of her imprisonment, she was still bleeding from the stabbing and organ skewering. Not helping matters was that she saw Maggie attacking Lucy, and her first instinct was to take out the headband half-with agonizing pain included-and rush to Lucy's aid, leaving Clyde behind to recover.

 _Meanwhile, at the skies outside..._

Lincoln, the twins and Carol continued to fly straight to Maggie's house, when Lana suddenly asked, "So, are we just going to straight up ditch the Team Lincoln concept, or can we keep it, but try to make it subtle? I'm gonna be honest, I enjoyed the idea of being in a team, I'm all up for teamwork, you know?"

"Well, if you were to ask me, I think it is the end of Team Lincoln," Lola remarked. "Besides, it's probably for the better, seeing how hard it is to work with you."

"Look who's talking!"

"Alright, before this escalates any further," Lincoln blurted, catching the twins' attention. "Team Lincoln is simply the band of people who are on my side, and who will help us take down the prototype sisters, got it?"

"Okay, that topic's done with then," Lana remarked, then asked, "Now, Carol, if you don't mind me asking, what sort of surname is Pingrey anyway? Not that I hate it, I think it sounds fine, but it doesn't sound like a common last name."

"Well, if I can be honest with you, Pingrey isn't really my last name, it's my second name," the teenager explained, scratching the back of her head. "My real last name is-"

"Look out!" Lincoln shouted as he stopped right on his tracks.

Carol stopped as well, but the twins just continued to fly and looked at the duo in confusion, right before the masked Maggie and Haiku came out of nowhere and punched them right in the face, sending them flying back to Carol and Lincoln. Once they were caught, the twins promptly shook off the attack and dusted themselves while Lincoln and Carol gave the masked girls angry looks.

"I had the feeling we were going to meet with some resistance, but I didn't expect Haiku and the girl from the birthday party to be our enemies," Lincoln remarked, scratching his head as he pondered how this made sense. "Did she captured and enslaved them with those masks or something?"

"No, these aren't the girls you know, Lincoln," Carol answered, earning looks from the siblings. "These are a Maggie and Haiku from an alternate reality that were enslaved by those lookalike of your sisters. They no longer have free will, nor any independent thoughts, they're just puppets who obey their respective patron prototype, in this case Prototype Lucy, regardless of the order. They are what you could call, Chain Breakers."

Though he couldn't really tell why the pair would be called chain breakers, Lincoln could tell just from looking at them that it would be better not to anger them. "Lola, Lana, stay on your-"

However, when Carol and Linc turned to look at the twins, they had suddenly left. And to make matters worse, they were right in front of the chain breaker Maggie and Haiku!

"Alright, we don't really know what's the deal with you, but regardless, you can't just expect us to be scared to go any further just because you showed up!" Lana proclaimed, giving the duo the pointer finger. "We'll kick you out of our way if we need to!"

The chain breakers didn't react. At all.

"Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, we have more than enough power to deal with both of you at once!" Lola added, imitating her sister's movements. "So, if you don't want to regret getting in our way, I suggest you go away right now!"

However, the chain breakers remained indifferent to the twins' bluffing. Clearly, they preferred to be shown rather than told. "What are you two doing?!" Lincoln and Carol exclaimed in unison. "Come back here before you do something you'll regret!"

"Don't worry about us, Carol and Lincoln!" the twins shouted back, before revealing their glowing "L" in their palms. "We got this under control."

The duo teleported straight in front of the chain breakers, who remained motionless as the twins shouted "Twin Sealer Beam!" and shot the same energy beam that they used to seal their counterparts. However, unlike last time, once the beam ended, the chain breakers quickly revealed that they were completely unaffected by the beam. They didn't even get scratched or anything, it almost looked like they were never attacked at all.

"W-What?! How is that possible?!" Lincoln exclaimed in surprise.

"Chain Breakers are an entirely different league than the prototype sisters," Carol explained, narrowing her eyes. "And even then, the only people the twins can really seal are their counterparts. On anybody else, the beam has no effect."

Suddenly, the chain breakers grabbed the twins' arms, analyzed them, and cleanly ripped them off before smacking the twins down with their severed arms. With that done, the pair flew after the twins, with Carol and Lincoln following soon afterwards. However, while Carol managed to go freely, Lincoln found a nasty obstacle on his way:

A wild Proto-Lucy appeared!

"I had a feeling you were nearby, my lord," she said with a smile. "I'm sorry that you had to see how the twin angels got their arms ripped off, but I did give them the job to cripple them, so-"

"You must be the prototype of Lucy that Carol mentioned," Lincoln remarked before shouting, "Get out of my way! I need to go help my sisters!"

"While I would enjoy to obey any and all your commands, my lord, I'm afraid it contradicts high sister Lori and high sister Leni's ultimate plan," the proto-goth answered with a giggle. As in, she actually giggled. "And as long as their plan is kept intact, any and all punishment I would receive from breaking the commandments of Lincolnism are overruled."

"Lincolnism?" the boy repeated, backing away in disbelief. "W-Whatever, just leave me alone! I don't have time for you!"

Just as the goth got ready to reply, however, she felt something was going off inside the house, and so, she flew all the way back to the house and allowed Lincoln to go deal with the chains breakers alongside Carol... Just as Luna arrived at the scene, still in her "Dumah" form. To say her arrival surprised everybody would be... Pretty accurate, actually.

"Oh, hi Lincoln, weird lady that looks like Lori," the rocker greeted, just as Carol kicked the chain breakers away and Lincoln caught the twins. "I came here because I had the feeling Luan needed my help. Something seems to be happening inside that house."

Luna and Lincoln turned to the mutated house, which brought Lincoln to a disturbing possibility. "Y-You don't mean to tell me Lucy and the others are trapped inside there?"

"Yep, Lucy, Haiku, Clyde, and Maggie are there, and still conscious by the looks of it," Luna explained. "Anyhow, before I go there, do you need help with these weirdos?"

"No, we can deal with these two on our own," the boy answered, before he remembered something important. "Wait, how did you even find us?"

"Easy, somehow, I can now sense the aura of... I don't know, living beings and such, and I felt both your and Luan's aura in this place!" the rocker answered, before kicking away Chain Breaker Haiku. "Luan's aura, however, suddenly went out, alongside another one, so I decided to check out what was going on."

"Huh, okay then," and then Lincoln got an idea. "Please, if you find someone who looks like Lucy but doesn't feel like her, then make sure to beat them up! She's likely her counterpart from the original reality!"

Luna gave her brother a wink, then flew straight for the house while Lincoln and Carol continued their fight with the chain breakers, all while the twins could only watch the fight from the ground. "Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped," Lana remarked, earning a "you don't say" look from Lola. "But as long as Carol is helping Lincoln, we got nothing to worry about!"

Lola groaned in frustration.

 _Back inside the house..._

Lucy continued to dodge the attacks from Maggie's arm-sword, all while Haiku and Clyde slowly crawled their to the fight, trying to help the girl at least attempt to survive. However, all this managed to do was caught Maggie's attention, which while it did give Lucy the chance to run, this also made the pair Maggie's new top priority. However, just as she attacked Maggie, Proto-Lucy teleported right in front of her, blocked her attack with her foot and grabbed Haiku by the neck of her dress.

Clyde, meanwhile, simply got a raspberry from the proto-goth before she teleported away with Haiku, leaving both the boy and Lucy to Maggie's mercy. With that done, the pair teleported into a new room connected to the hallway, where not only was all sound muted besides their own voices, but they could both see Lucy and Clyde barely dodging and surviving Maggie's attacks, all while screaming for mercy.

And then, once she dropped the gothic poet, the prototype Lucy healed Haiku's injuries and closed her wounds, though the clothing itself wasn't repaired as well. Neither did the blood

"Okay, what is wrong with you!?" the poet got up and dusted herself before doing the unthinkable: Slapping Proto Lucy in the back of her head. "I mean, first you torture me, then you give Giggles a slow death, then you give Maggie powers so she gets to beat up Lucy, and now you suddenly take me away and leave both her and Clyde to that madwoman's mercy!? I appreciate it, but couldn't you have brought Clyde as well?!"

"Clyde is far too weak to be able to live in our lord and savior Lincoln's perfect world," the prototype goth answered as she nonchalantly watched the beating continue. "He, like the majority of this city's population, is simply unworthy of being saved by Lincoln's grace. He's more worthy than most, but he still has a long way to go. And so, I decided to bring you here because I need you to fix this problem."

"You caused this problem!" Haiku exclaimed, giving the proto-goth the pointer finger. "If you hadn't done... Whatever you did to Maggie, then she wouldn't be out there doing whatever the heck she wanted!"

In any other situation, Haiku would probably be tortured to the point of near death by the prototype, and for a moment, it looked like that would happen. However, Proto-Lucy calmed down and simply replied:

"And you can help me undo my mistake."

Naturally, Haiku had no idea what she was talking about. "Wait, what?"

"Empowering that emo whiner Maggie was one of the worst ideas I've ever had," the prototype goth and Haiku watched as Maggie continued to pummel Lucy and Clyde into the ground as she finished, "I honestly didn't think a single Hishurazch would be enough to drive her nuts, but it seems I underestimated her-"

"Wait, what's a hishurazch?" Haiku asked.

The proto-goth took a deep breath and confessed, "It's basically a formless, mindless abomination that grows in my being. A little gift from the eldritch dimension. If even one enters a person's body, that person is granted similar powers as mine, though some of their sanity is taken away in return."

"...So, let me get this straight: the reason Maggie turned into a superhuman, unstoppable juggernaut of a madwoman... Is because you put some sort of abomination into her body?!"

"Very much, yes."

After remaining silent for a couple seconds, Haiku threw up her hands in the air. "It's official, nothing makes sense anymore!"

"Good, now that you understand that, I want you to understand something: If you, who is the only person available left inside this house, can't do anything to stop Maggie... She could very well kill my counterpart and your boyfriend."

Haiku flinched and backed away, though she was also embarrassed at having Clyde be considered her boyfriend. "I can give you the power to rival Maggie and face off against her in order to give my counterpart the chance to take a breather, and maybe even stall for time before the one who will defeat Maggie can come up. So, will you step up and fight equally with Maggie or-"

Suddenly, Haiku got on her knees, clasped her hands, then shot a look of determination at the baffled proto-goth.

"Please, give me that power!" the poet requested. "I'll do anything to save Lucy!"

"I can clearly see that," the proto-goth smirked. "You got my respect. And my pity."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"Luna?"

"Luan!" the rocker hugged the comedian and laughed in joy. "I was so worried! I thought you had died or something!"

"Hey, I didn't make you laugh with my puns, but at least you laughed," the comedian answered, right before she asked an important question, "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Well, long story short, after becoming some sort of supernatural human, I gained the ability to sense the auras of living beings, and I felt both your and another aura go off," the rocker tightened the hug and kissed Luan's cheek. "But now I can sense it again, and you don't know how happy I am that's the case!"

"I'm glad you're happy," Luan said, before her happiness was cut short with a realization. "Wait, you said an aura other than mine went off? Where?!"


	20. Poetic Showdown

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, The biker girls gained a new leader in the form of Polly, the team of Lincoln, Carol, and the twins got a nasty surprise when some "Chain Breakers" lookalikes to Maggie and Haiku appeared, and knocked out the twins by simply ripping off their arms.**

 **Not only that, but Maggie, after being forced to make a deal with Proto-Lucy and attacking Lucy, Haiku, and Clyde to the point of growing beyond the proto-goth's control.**

 **And as if that wasn't enough, out of desperation, Haiku made a deal with Proto-Lucy in order to become strong enough to protect Lucy from Maggie.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: A Poetic Showdown! Haiku Versus Maggie!**

* * *

 _Back at the poetry club..._

Sam and the biker girls approached the dude in charge of the accompanying sound for Polly and Tabby's music. "Hello!"

"Hey cuties, sorry but I ain't changing the sound for nothing," the guy said in return.

"Got it, but you see, we're here to give you a message," Sam wrapped her arm around the guy's shoulder and pointed at Silas. "See that guy over there? His name's Silas, and he's actually an emo in disguise!"

"What?! This club is only for goths!"

The music dude got off his machine and ran off to deal with the boy, while Sam sat down and one of the girls said, "You know it's a bit of a jerkish thing to do to lie to him, you know?"

"Hey, I didn't lie, Silas is probably a closet emo, what with all his downbeat mood," Sam cracked her knuckles. "Anyway, time to put on a romantic mood!"

And so, Sam and the girls changed the music from a sad, slow tune, to a slightly faster and more romantic theme, with a particular emphasis on the saxophone.

Naturally, Polly and Tabby were caught off-guard by the change of music, but mostly Tabby, since it was now up to her to carry the music while Tabby received an occasional beat or two.

So Tabby started playing the saxophone, and Polly took her resting time to watch Tabby. The sleek speed in which her fingers switched from hole to hole, and of course, just the general fact that the girl was managing to carry through the speedy music with ease despite its sudden nature, made Polly smile in awe.

And the smile grew wider and turned playful when Tabby glanced at her, saw she was looking at her, then returned to her instrument, slightly blushing.

But all that changed when Polly caught a glimpse of Sam and the biker girls, with the former too happy to notice and the latter three immediately realizing what this meant. Let's just say she wasn't happy to see that, so she got up and walked towards them.

"Looks like it's working!" Sam remarked in delight, while the biker girls hid once they saw Polly approaching them. "Did you see the look on their eyes when... Why are you hiding?"

Suddenly, Polly disconnected the sound generator just as the song finished, and both she and Tabby turned to look at Sam with clearly angry looks.

"Uh," Sam clasped her hands and shrugged. "I-It's not what it looks like."

 _Back with Luan..._

The prankster slowly recovered consciousness as she faintly heard a warm, welcoming voice calling for her.

"Luan? Come on, Luan, wake up!"

She opened her eyes, but her vision was too blurry to make out who she was looking at. They did seem to be really worried, though.

"Luan, please don't tell me you're... You're..."

And then something hit her eyes, which she wiped before fully opening them, not able to see she was looking at Luna, who was shedding tears. However, her frown soon turned into a smile when she saw her wake up.

"Luna?"

"Luan!" the rocker hugged the comedian and laughed in joy. "I was so worried! I thought you had died or something!"

"Hey, I didn't make you laugh with my puns, but at least you laughed," the comedian answered, right before she asked an important question, "Wait, what are you doing here?"

"Well, long story short, after becoming some sort of supernatural human, I gained the ability to sense the auras of living beings, and I felt both your and another aura go off," the rocker tightened the hug and kissed Luan's cheek. "But now I can sense it again, and you don't know how happy I am that's the case!"

"I'm glad you're happy," Luan said, before her happiness was cut short with a realization. "Wait, you said an aura other than mine went off? Where?!"

The duo got up, left the room, and the first thing they met was Giggles' corpse, still stabbed on the blood-stained wall, and with her lifeless eyes only partially closed. Naturally, both teenagers were horrified at the sight, but while Luna covered her mouth, Luan walked forward, crouched down to look at the corpse face-to-face, and fully closed her eyes with her fingers as a memory flashed in her mind:

 _Luan's memory..._

The joker sat at the edge of a hill, glancing between the sunset, and the very end of the floor below, which had a bed full of spiky rocks down below. And while the sight brought chills up the comedian's spine, she still felt-

"Luan?"

The girl with braces flinched, but soon calmed down when she saw it was just her friend Giggles, who approached her afterwards.

"What are you doing here?" the clown girl asked as she shot a worried look at her friend.

"It's the day after April Fools Day, Giggles," she confessed somberly. "You know I like to come here the day after that to-"

Giggles sat down. "Contemplate on stuff?"

"...You can't understand," Luan lowered her head in shame. "Even when I try my hardest, I still do the same thing I did a long time: I prank whoever is nearby to ensure nobody pranks me in return."

"And then you go too far?"

Luan covered her face. "Look, Luan, I know you feel bad that you continue to do that even after you got your revenge or whatever, but you don't have to contemplate whether to end everything right now or not-"

"I nearly got my own family killed several times, Giggles!" the joker snapped, surprising her clown companion. "And even when I had pranked all of them, I didn't even clean the mess afterwards, I just laughed about it like an inconsiderate-"

"Kid?" Giggles grabbed Luan's hand. "You were just like that when the incident happened. You were pranked until you were taken past your breaking point. You snapped 'cause you couldn't take it anymore."

"...Giggles..."

"So look on the bright side, alright?" the clown girl showed a smile. "It may be too late to not ruin April Fools Day for everyone else, but it's not too late to make it up for it, right? I mean, it's not like anybody died..."

 _Back in the present..._

" _Until now, that is..._ " Luan thought.

A somber silence followed, and so, Luna figured she needed to make a joke. After all, Luan didn't seem to be in the mood to do that. In fact, her aura changed from what would probably be a cheerful tone into a somber, downbeat mode, bringing further distress to Luna.

"Hey, uh... It looks like Giggles got _stuck_ on one on her puns!" then she laughed out loud as the comedian got up and formed a fist. Along with this, Luna could see that Luan's aura was turning a lot more fierce and furious than usual. "Get it, Luan?"

There was no response, though the aura did spike up in intensity a little.

"Get it?"

Still no response... At least until, with her aura spiking up even more, Luan blurted:

"Luna."

"Y-Yes?"

The prankster turned around, and with her eyes now glowing yellow, she shot a glare at her sister and sternly stated while her aura turned fire-like:

"This is _no_ laughing matter!"

However, just before her aura grew even more fire-like, Luan grabbed her head and managed to calm herself and her aura down to a safer, yet still highly emotional, level. With that done, Luna put a hand on her sister's shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look.

"Sorry, I'm just so... Upset right now," Luan answered before glancing at the corpse of her friend. "Giggles was hurt, and not only did I fail to stop that Lucy lookalike from hurting her, but I wasn't even there with her when she died..."

"Well, we need to keep our priorities straight, alright, Love?" Luna said, earning a downbeat, yet understand look from Luan. "Tell me, what were you doing in that place?"

The girl started to remember the moments beforehand, from meeting Giggles, to arriving at Maggie's house, up until the prankster was knocked out by the teenager... And soon enough, she put two and two together.

"Maggie!"

The comedian's aura grew even bigger and wilder, and she flew deeper inside the house, with Luna following behind. However, it wasn't long before Luna felt a... Disturbing aura, with three smaller auras inside it.

"Luan, I'm feeling a powerful aura nearby," the rocker pointed out, narrowing her eyes.

This made the comedian suddenly halt and Luna to crash with her. However, while Luna was left slightly dizzy from impact, Luan was pretty much unharmed. "Luna, I'm pretty sure your new "aura sense" is nice and interesting and all, but we don't have time for that! We need to find Maggie and beat an answer out of her!"

"Well, the thing is, this aura feels like it's primarily guided by intense, negative emotions," Luna shook off the dizziness and explained, "Abandonment, revenge, with a little bit of whining thrown into-"

"That has to be Maggie's aura!" the comedian grabbed the rock star by the neck of her shirt and pulled her towards her. "Guide me to her!"

However, even when the aura in front of her was reaching murderous, emotional power, Luna still knew going straight to the other auras was far too reckless. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. I mean, I can feel three smaller, yet vastly more powerful auras inside her. If we do something wrong, those auras could come out and-"

Suddenly, Luan slapped her, then stopped herself and took several deep breaths while giving her sister a look that basically demanded her to take her to the multi-aura being. With this done, Luna took a deep breath herself and lead Luan to the aura's signature, with the comedian following behind, giggling like a madwoman all the while. Needless to say, the rocker found this rather disconcerting.

 _Back with Lucy, Clyde and Maggie..._

The dark-skinned geek and gothic poet continued to dodge the empowered emo's attacks, which now included contorting or outright morphing her legs and arms into tentacles, swords, or even tentacle swords. Despite the fast barrage of attacks, the pair managed to dodge most of them, with only a couple of them hitting or slashing their arms and legs.

However, it wasn't long before the teenager cornered the pair against a wall with her tentacled arms. She grabbed them by their arms and legs, lifted them and held them tightly-

And no, this wasn't going where you think it's going.

"Maggie, I could see why you're attacking me, I hate it but I understand it," Lucy remarked in both fear and desperation, trying to reach whatever part of Maggie remained sane. "But why are you attacking Clyde too?!"

"Because this was only meant to involve you, Haiku, and me!" the emo shouted before slamming the pair against the wall. "I had already planned everything to go according to plan: Nothing had to go wrong in order to gain you as an apprentice! But then Haiku brought blackjack into this mess, and then you brought the comedian, and then she brought yet another waste of space who now lays dead on the wall like a fucking fly!"

Then she pinned them to the ground, and morphed one of her legs into a sword. "So, I simply needed to set everything back to normal: I knocked the comedian out, I made sure her stupid clown friend perished in loneliness, and now, once I behead your friend here, I'll go after Haiku next, and then I'll have you for me alone!"

"And what makes you think I'll just join after what you've done?!" Lucy growled, trying to intimidate the teenager. "You've hurt me, you've betrayed me, you ignored my opinions on this entire matter!"

However, not only was Maggie unimpressed, but actually amused enough to let a chuckle. "Welcome to my world, Lucy," and then, unknowingly, Maggie started to shed tears as she continued with a forced, malicious smile. "A world of perpetual pain, perpetual agony, perpetual unpleasantness that you simply cannot escape, no matter how hard you try."

Then, just as Lucy pondered what the emo meant by that, Maggie realized her tears and wiped them off as fast as she could. "Besides, do you honestly think I wouldn't force you to be my student? Thanks to your copycat, the true Lucy, I'm strong enough to make a difference for once! I have power comparable to the gods holding this world together! You're going to need a freaking miracle just to get out of this one alive!"

Suddenly, and rather appropriately, Haiku burst out the window and punched Maggie away, allowing the pair to live once more. Not much about her appearance had changed, minus the fact her eyes were blank and glowing white.

"Clyde, don't question what's happening right now!" the empowered poet proclaimed as she cracked her knuckles. "Just take Lucy and go somewhere safe!"

"I don't know, are you sure you-"

And then Proto Lucy arrived.

"Good luck, Haiku!"

Clyde and Lucy took a run for it and fleed for their lives while the poet and proto-goth got ready to confront Maggie, who got back up and stretched a Little. And then she dashed straight for Haiku, who blocked her incoming attack with her bare arms.

Seeing the window of opportunity was open despite her main objective-Lucy-fleeing, Maggie opened her mouth, and from there came out three tentacles whose tips morphed into swords, which Haiku blocked before Proto Lucy came in and slashed them in half with her own mouth-tentacle-sword, which she retracted back into a normal tongue before hissing at her.

"Ew!" the poet exclaimed before turning to the prototype goth. "How many of those Hissalot or whatever they're called did you give her!?"

"Hishurazch! I'm not freaking Luan!" the prototypical goth responded, sounding legitimately offended. "And I gave her about 3 of those, just in case she fought all three of you in a row. But don't worry, I gave you just as many of those things."

Naturally, the empowered poet went to Proto Lucy and grabbed her by the neck of her shirt. "Well, how am I supposed to turn my weird things into... Whatever Maggie just did!"

This earned her a slap in the face. "Do you expect me to just tell you how to beat up Maggie?!" the proto-goth hissed before blocking one of Maggie's attack with a kick. "I may need you to stall for time while Maggie goes nut, but I still see you as nothing more than vermin. Besides, I gave you the hishuzarch precisely to stall for time and nothing else."

"You mean I don't even have the power to defeat her!?"

"Of course not, that's not your purpose."

And then Maggie summoned a second tentacle-sword and split Proto Lucy in half, only for the prototype to recover instantly and punch her away. "Anyway, I have to go taunt my counterpart," the prototype remarked with a smirk. "The more trauma she goes through, the faster she'll be able to be useful."

So Proto Lucy waved goodbye as she phased through a wall and left Haiku and Maggie to fight on their own.

 _Meanwhile, with Clyde and Lucy..._

The kids rested on a hallway that stood as far away from the fight as possible. Clyde put the silent goth girl down, and sat next to her.

"I may not be able to see anything, but I can hear, and it definitely sounds like we're as far away from that fiasco as possible," the dark-skinned geek remarked as he put a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Now we just have to wait and-"

Then, he heard sobbing, which he soon realized came from Lucy. And before he could comfort her, she said:

"It's all my fault."

"No it isn't!" Clyde hugged the goth, who flinched and shivered, her disgust for close contact resurfacing. "Yes, you summoned your doppelganger, but everything else happened because of her! You had no way of knowing this would've happened."

However, once she realized the boy wasn't trying to or even intending to hurt her, Lucy hesitantly returned the hug. "Clyde..."

"Blaming you for stuff that was beyond your control won't help anybody," the boy continued, tightening the hug. "So... Don't blame yourself. We'll find a way to fix this, I promise."

"How can you be so optimistic?" the goth inquired. "I mean, we're in such a hopeless situation... And yet you didn't break down."

"Hey, we've managed to live up to this point, right?" the boy pointed out, which caught the girl off-guard. "We just need to wait, and something should happen that will save us from this mess, got it?"

Once the shock wore off, Lucy smiled and said "yes" in relief. With that done, the goth covered her eyes with the gauze and took a deep breath alongside Clyde. "Hey, uh, can I tell something to you Clyde?" she inquired, rubbing the back of her head. "It's something that only a select few people actually know about. And by that I mean only Lincoln and Lynn."

"You already told me you summoned the one who turned this place upside down, so I don't see any problem with you telling me something else," the dark-skinned geek answered, putting a hand on Lucy's leg, which he confused for her shoulder. "Still, if you're not comfortable telling me about this truth, then I'm not going to force you to tell me."

"Well, for one, you're grabbing my leg," the goth said with a giggle, causing the boy to release his hand and chuckled embarrassed. "And the person who looks like me and who I summoned... She took my eyes."

Clyde immediately grabbed Lucy's shoulders, for real this time, and asked "What do you mean by she took your eyes?!" in a panic.

"During the summoning, I did something wrong, but she refused to tell me what exactly went wrong," the goth explained. "She just told me that I would pay the price, and before she left, she ripped off my eyes and left with them. In fact, she originally didn't have any eyes at all!"

"So those glowing eyes of hers-"

"Are actually mine."

And then, the boy moved his hand around Lucy's face and gently touched the part where the gauze would be. And though she was inconvenienced by it, Lucy managed to retain enough composure through the check.

"It's true..." Clyde remarked before grabbing Lucy's cheek. "You have a gauze... How long have you been like this?"

The goth took a deep breath and sobbed, with her tears reaching Clyde's hand. "Since a couple days ago..." she answered before grabbing Clyde's hand. "After the ritual, I tried to hide my injuries from my family, since I didn't want them to either get worried or mad at me. So, for the last couple of days, I've been acting as best as I can to hide my injuries, even as I crashed against the walls and doors several times. Lincoln and Lynn did find out eventually, but nobody else has."

And then, Lucy started to cry her heart and put her head on the boy's chest, all while he rubbed her hair in an attempt to comfort her.

"I'm scared, Clyde!" she exclaimed, her cries muffled by Clyde's shirt. "First, I summoned some sort of demon into this world. Then, I got in the middle of this stupid decision between Haiku and Maggie. And now, those two things have combined together into an even bigger mess! And now that I can't see, I'm completely blind: I don't know what's up next, I don't know what I'm supposed to do now, heck, I don't even know if I'm even looking at you while I'm saying this."

"It's okay, I'm not sure about that either," the boy replied, putting on a kind, warm smile. "And hey, as long as I'm with you, I'm not going to leave you alone, I promise."

"You just had to open your mouth, didn't you?"

The pair, recognizing that the voice belonged to Proto Lucy, looked around and tried to hear where she was coming. Not that she made it difficult, for her demented laughter grew louder and louder up until she burst through the ground and tried to smack Clyde, only for Lucy to throw him away and take the hit. The prototype then took out a pair of glasses and put them on the boy's eyes.

This made Clyde regain his vision... Only to see Lucy, desperately struggling and crying for help, trying to break free from her counterpart's grasp as the pair vanished into the floor. And when Clyde tried to help her, it was already too late. He smacked the ground in frustration, then, to his surprise, he was soon approached by Luna and Luan.

"Hi Clyde," the rocker greeted, while the comedian impatiently waited behind her. "What's wrong?"

The boy didn't have time to explain, though, since Luan soon spotted Maggie fighting Haiku nearby, and flew to her, with Luna and an unwilling Clyde following soon afterwards.

Back with the Lucies, the pair landed on an enclosed room, where Proto Lucy threw Lucy against a wall and snickered as the girl curled up in a fetal position. "So, here we are, all alone, just you and me," the proto-goth remarked. "And in you're case, you're helpless. Hopeless. And some sort other positive emotion that can have "less" put at the end of it."

Lucy continued to sit still in a fetal position, trying to ignore her counterpart.

"You know, I didn't expect you to be such a coward," Proto-Lucy snarled as the wall fixed itself. And as she continued, the hints of resentment and some disappointment could be felt in her tone. "I mean, while your friends and specially your girlfriend, Haiku, are putting their lives on the line to stop me and that pathetic poet wannabe, you're sitting here, lamenting what could have been instead of doing something to fix this."

Lucy didn't respond.

"And that's not even counting that obnoxious attitude you put up during my summoning," the proto-goth added, seemingly catching her counterpart's attention. "I mean, it's one thing to cry and whine when you did something wrong, but crying in muted agony as you gave me your eyes-"

"I didn't give them to you!" Lucy hissed at her counterpart, who flinched in surprise. "You practically tore them from my eye sockets and took them for yourself! I had to find the medical box blind and cover my sockets with gauze, and then spent days without telling my family for fear of Lori making things worse! And ever since then, I can't see anything!"

However, instead of feeling sympathetic towards the girl, the proto-goth felt both satisfied and entertained. There was something just, cathartic, in seeing the goth in so much pain and trauma that she would actually act emotional.

"It sucks, doesn't it?" she blurted before grabbing Lucy's chin and forcing her to look at her face-to-face. Not that the goth could see her anyway. "To have something you love so much, be taken away from you regardless of what you think about it?"

Lucy promptly slapped her counterpart back... And the doppelganger revealed her eyes in front of Lucy. "But perhaps, you may have a chance to get them back. And it would be better if you did it before I changed my mind."

Just before she took the eyes, however, Proto Lucy backed away, then kicked the goth hard enough to send her face straight to the ground. "If I never got the chance to take back my brother, then neither will you take your eyes back!"

And as the prototype laughed, Lucy held back her tears as she looked up, revealing that not only was her nose broken and bleeding, but some of her teeth fell off.

"Besides, what else were you expecting?" the Gothic imitator replied while her counterpart turned to look away. "The book clearly said that, if even one part of the summoning failed to be performed correctly, then you would have to give me something in exchange for letting you live. It just so happened I decided to take your eyes. The book said it rather clearly, and yet _you_ think you can blame _me_?"

"Why are you even wasting your time tormenting me!?" the goth growled, though this failed to intimidate her counterpart. "Aren't you supposed to be helping Maggie kill everyone!?"

"I don't like that brat any more than you do. In fact, I'm surprised you even considered having her as a teacher," the proto-goth folded her arms. "She's whiny, can't even take any direct orders, and she's just so full of herself. Not that your other choice was any better. I bet that Haiku girl would've been both stern and rough both as a teacher and as a girlfriend."

The goth tightly grabbed the ground. "She's not my girlfriend..."

"Maybe when you two decided to go to your honeymoon, you would metaphorically get on the ground and turn in her rug," the prototype continued, gaining a smug smirk. "A submissive little bat who agrees with her, has very little control in the relationship, I wonder if you would even go so far as to have her put you in the most ridiculous outfits, and you wouldn't say anything in order to not hurt her feelings."

"She's not. My girlfriend."

"And yet you're sulking her, letting your girlfriend do all the work-"

Suddenly, a dark grey aura enveloped Lucy and the goth got up, leaped straight for her counterpart and pinned her against the wall before grabbing and tightly holding her neck. Notably, at this point, all smugness from Proto-Lucy vanished and was replaced by outright fear.

"She's! Not! My girlfriend!"

Lucy threw a punch at her counterpart, a punch so hard, it made her head explode into... Blackish-orange paint-ish stuff. Which started to melt the surrounding area. However, it wasn't long before the prototype regenerated her head and tried to save face.

"You can try as much as you want, but nothing you throw at me will ever kill me!" Lucy threw her counterpart to the ground, got on top of her and prepared to punch her again. "I gained the power that you would've loved to have so much! I perfected it to the point I'm nearly invincible! I! Am! Immortal!"

However, this didn't stop Lucy from considering her attack. In fact, she seemed to _relish_ the revelation.

"Then I guess I can just beat you to death until the walls are covered in your blood!"

It was at that point, the prototype goth realized she had messed up. However, she wouldn't just stand there and take a beating-that was Prototype Lynn's thing-so the proto-goth vanished into the floor, then came out of the ceiling before attempt to drop kick her counterpart. This just gave Lucy the perfect chance to grab her leg and throw her at a wall, right before dashing to her like a football player hard enough to crash through the window, and into the outside.

Not another room, but outside the building, right in the sky. Yeah, Lucy probably should've thought twice before doing that. Nevertheless, the pair continued to fight evenly when suddenly, Maggie and Haiku both burst through a different wall, followed by Luan and Luna, who still held a terrified Clyde.

"Why did you bring me along?!" Clyde exclaimed right before he noticed where they were, causing him to cling to Luna's leg.

Once she felt Clyde's soft hands squeezing her leg, the rock star stopped on her tracks and turned to see the terrified geek clinging for his life. A look of shock and horror appeared on her face as she realized her mistake.

"Sorry!" the rock star exclaimed as she grabbed the geek, while Luan followed the goth and emo. "I didn't realize I dragged you with us! Let me put you on the ground."

Luna flew down, then put Clyde down next to Lola, Lana and Lincoln before she flew back to the fight. This was just as Maggie smacked Luan away, causing her to crash with Luna in the process.

Then, growing tired from the fighting, Haiku and Maggie shouted and lunged at each other, fists firmly formed and ready to punch the other with all their strength.

And suddenly, right in the middle of their way, Lucy teleported right in the middle of the incoming clash, and raised her arms to block the incoming attack.

"Lucy?!" Carol, Lincoln and the twins exclaimed as Maggie and Haiku continued to go after each other, seemingly failing to notice the goth being in the way.

"Maggie! Haiku! Listen up!" the goth proclaimed, though her statement fell in deaf ears. There was also some slight fear in her tone. "This whole decision nonsense has gone for long en-"

However, Maggie and Haiku still threw their punches, which were "caught" by Lucy. And by caught, I meant that they clashed and hit her so hard, her arm's skeletons were immediately shattered, causing the girl to not only spit out blood, but scream in agonizing pain, all while her family watched in horror and Haiku and Maggie were freed from Proto Lucy's control.

Once they saw the goth girl slowly fall to the ground, haiku quickly grabbed her and gently put her on the ground while Maggie just stood still in disbelief. " _What in the name of darkness was she thinking?!_ " she thought before flying after the pair, only to be stopped by Luna and Luan. "Ugh, you again?!"

"Maggie, I just want to learn something from you," Luan stated, though her stern look implied more. "Were you the one who stuck Giggles in the wall, and left her to die?"

"Ugh, this is why I hate about you, comedian!" the emo teenager exclaimed, rubbing her forehead as Lucy hit the ground and Lincoln and Haiku went to her aid. "If you're not wasting my time with your stupid puns, then you're wasting my time asking me questions about people I don't care about! Now move out of the way before I move you myself!"

"Maggie, give me an answer."

The emo turned to see Lucy shivering and breathing heavily on the ground. So, not wanting to waste time, she gave the most honest answer she could think of: "So what if I did?"

Then she tried to go straight to Lucy, only for Luan to block her once more. "Say it again."

"I gave you your answer already, what more do you want?!"

Luan, with her intent going from angered to outright murderous, formed a pair of fists and declared:

"I want you to repeat your answer, only this time, you will say it loudly so everyone hears it, and you'll use her name: Giggles."

The empowered emo hesitated, specially considering the fact she was basically surrounded. And then Proto Lucy, alongside Maggie's and Haiku's chain breaker counterparts, flew to her side, with the emo looking surprised-and actually kinda terrified-of the proto-goth's arrival.

"Are you afraid of telling the truth, Marguerite?" Proto Lucy mockingly inquired as Maggie realized the prototype was back on her side. Geez, couldn't she stay in one side? "You shouldn't be. Even if we're outnumbered, their power combined doesn't compare to ours. So go ahead, reveal what you did. It won't change anything."

The teenager thought about it as she looked around her surroundings: Luan continued to look at her with anger while being cautious around the proto-goth, Luna looking equally angry and cautious, and Lincoln, Clyde, the twins, Carol and specially Haiku looking at her.

Then she turned to look at her companions: Proto Lucy, who gave basically everybody trouble up to this point and gave her and Haiku powers, and her and Haiku's chain breakers counterparts, who didn't seem like the kind to go against her... Or have any free will, for that matter.

So she smirked and, believing she really didn't have anything to worry about, proclaimed at the top of her lungs and with some sadistic glee:

"I murdered Giggles! I took a knife, stabbed her with it, and left her rotting against the wall!"

Nearly everybody backed away, gasped in horror or disgust, or even both, but Luan in particular didn't seem to react... At first. Her fists shook rapidly and violently, and she clenched-even grinded-her teeth as she processed what Maggie just said. And when Luna tried to comfort her, what she said next utterly caught her off-guard.

"You piece of shit!"

Carol gasped and covered the twins' ears, while Haiku did the same with Lucy and Lincoln looked in shock. Maggie and her companions, meanwhile, just laughed at the sudden swearing, and only stopped chuckling when the comedian continued:

"She only wanted to cheer you up! She went to your "cheer-up" party in order to lighten up your mood, and she came here to try and help you, Haiku, and Lucy sort out this whole mess! Why did you have to kill her!? Why did she have to die?"

"She was just another obnoxious obstacle in my quest to gain your sister as my apprentice," the emo answered with a shrug and smirk. "And once I'm done with you, I'll get rid of Haiku. Or maybe I'll do Haiku first, and then you. Point is, as long as you stand in my way, I'll make sure you never get to bother me again."

Then she turned to look at Lincoln and raised her fist. "Have I been clear?"

Lincoln flinched and backed away as Proto-Lucy and the chain breakers looked in disapproval, and Luan clenched her teeth even harder than before. All while her aura grew more volatile and violent in general.

"First you kill my friend, and now you threaten my brother!?" the comedian hissed, flashing a glare of undiluted fury at the empowered emo. "After everything we've done to make you happy!?"

Finally, some of her teeth snapped in half and she lunged straight for Maggie, who actually seemed to be caught off-guard.

"I won't forgive you for this!" Luan proclaimed as her aura was surrounded by an orange one. Carol, in particular, looked surprised at this fact. "You will pay for what you've done, Maggie!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"H-Hey, you!" Luna shouted. "Y-You're the one who turned that girl Luan's beating up into... Whatever she is now, right? Why aren't you helping her?!"

Naturally, the proto-goth wasn't happy to have her fun potentially interrupted. So she turned her head, in a way that would probably snap the neck of any normal living person, and hissed "How many times do I have to tell you-"

However, once she saw the flabbergasted Luna, she calmed down and frowned, "Oh great, they're multiplying," then she turned her body on the opposite direction she turned her head. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself."

The prototype grabbed the ends of her dress and lifted it before bowing down... Just as a large array of sharp objects like knifes, swords, and so on, to drop out of her skirt and fall to the ground. Unsurprisingly, Luna was horrified by the sight.

"You may call me Lucy Loud," the proto-goth said, catching Luna's attention once more. "I can do many amazing things like fly, manipulate my own energy, and even speak with the dead!"

Somehow, the last part got Luna intrigued. "Oh really? How are you so sure you can do the last one?"

Proto Lucy flashed a sadistic, ear-to-ear smirk at Luna and proclaimed as her chain breaker allies got ready to attack:

"'Cause I'm speaking to a dead person right now!"


	21. Comedic Reveangence

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, among the many things that happened, Luan discovered Giggles was murdered, Maggie continued her rampage against Lucy and Haiku, and Lincoln, the twins, and Carol try their hardest to fight the chain breakers while Luna and Luan dealt with whatever was going on inside the house!**

 **And finally, the revelation that Maggie was Giggles' killer, a new power surged within from Luan, and gave her a newfound power that could be the key to Maggie's defeat!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, in Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Luan's Furious Revengeance! A New Angel is Born?!**

* * *

Back where we left off, Luan-with an orange aura surrounding her yellow one-engaged directly in combat with Maggie, while Proto Lucy, the chain breakers Maggie and Haiku, and Luna-currently in her Dumah form-watched her fight. And for some reason, the prototype goth looked very interested in seeing what would follow.

First, Luan threw a punch straight at Maggie's face so hard, her nose was not only broken, but her bones could be heard cracking inside her body.

"You just needed to get the _punchline_!"

Then she created a vacuum cleaner out of energy, sucked the tip of Maggie's hair and started swinging the empowered emo around like a ragdoll, to the approval of Proto Lucy and the chain breakers, but the horror of everybody else.

"Or show us your sense of _hoover_!"

Next she pulled the teenager closer to her, and kneed her right in the gut before sending an electric shock around her body through her knee, which resulted in both of them getting electrocuted. Somehow, while Maggie was in complete pain-judging her agonized screams anyhow-Luan was completely unaffected.

"But in the _scend_ ,"

She kicked her up into the sky, teleported right in front of her, and turned the energy vacuum cleaner into a pair of energy gongs.

"I was _gong_ about you!"

Just as Maggie recovered, Luan struck her with both energy gongs at once, not only briefly deafening the teenager but also sending a couple of sound waves across the sky. As if that wasn't enough, she created a freaking miniature _scow boat_ out of the energy gongs and smacked Maggie with it hard enough to send her flying down.

"And _scow_ you'll-"

She teleported back down, then flew up before clashing foreheads with Maggie. This managed to hurt the two, since Luan got a nosebleed... Although Maggie was basically vomiting blood at this point.

"- _Face_ the consequences!"

Then the fight continued with the pair in silence while Proto Lucy and the chain breakers applauded the fight. Luna, however, just continued to look in shock at the brutality Luan was inflicting on Maggie. To see the usually cheerful Luan viciously beating up someone brought chills up her spine: Was Luan's anger at what Maggie did really that furious?

"Hmph, looks like Maggie will be occupied for a while," Proto Lucy mockingly remarked, catching Luna's attention. "Let's hope she doesn't get beaten before I get the chance to kill Luan, that would make her a very disappointing pet."

"H-Hey, you!" Luna shouted. "Y-You're the one who turned that girl Luan's beating up into... Whatever she is now, right? Why aren't you helping her?!"

Naturally, the proto-goth wasn't happy to have her fun potentially interrupted. So she turned her head, in a way that would probably snap the neck of any normal living person, and hissed "How many times do I have to tell you-"

However, once she saw the flabbergasted Luna, she calmed down and frowned, "Oh great, they're multiplying," then she turned her body on the opposite direction she turned her head. "Well, I guess I should introduce myself."

The prototype grabbed the ends of her dress and lifted it before bowing down... Just as a large array of sharp objects like knifes, swords, and so on, to drop out of her skirt and fall to the ground. Unsurprisingly, Luna was horrified by the sight.

"You may call me Lucy Loud," the proto-goth said, catching Luna's attention once more. "I can do many amazing things like fly, manipulate my own energy, and even speak with the dead!"

Somehow, the last part got Luna intrigued. "Oh really? How are you so sure you can do the last one?"

Proto Lucy flashed a sadistic, ear-to-ear smirk at Luna and proclaimed as her chain breaker allies got ready to attack:

"'Cause I'm speaking to a dead person right now!"

The prototype snapped her fingers and the chain breakers immediately charged at Luna, who quickly managed to regain her sense and block the incoming attacks, even when the prototype goth joined in the attacks.

Back on the ground, however, almost everybody seemed to focus on other stuff. Clyde and haiku were trying to help Lucy calm down and stay cool, despite the agonizing pain from her broken arms driving her to the brink of tears. She was also breathing in a rather heavy way.

"Don't worry, Lucy, it's all going to be fine in the end," Clyde told the poet, while Haiku brushed Lucy's hair. "We just... We just need to calm down and think of what to do next."

"Clyde... Haiku... Please..." Lucy blurted, earning the duo's wholehearted attention. "Rip off my arms."

"We can't do that!" Haiku stated. "Yes, it may put an end to the pain you're getting, but even if we rip them clean off and without trouble, what good will it be to leave you armless?"

Lucy's response was rather blunt:

"It won't hurt anymore!"

Even so, Haiku and Clyde refused to do as Lucy requested. And on the other side of the problem, Lincoln was healing the twins, who sat in place and caught their breath as the boy successfully closed the end from where their arms were ripped off, leaving behind a stump. Nevertheless, the twins did seem disappointed this is all he did, Lola in particular.

"Seriously? Those jerks ripped off our arms and all you could do about it was leave behind stumps!?" the pageant diva whined before slapping Lincoln. Hey, she had to put her remaining arm to use. "What kind of healing powers did you use, Lincoln?!"

"I'm not very comfortable using powers I didn't knew I had until a while ago!" the boy growled in return. "Besides, I started feeling dizzy from using them!"

And as the pair continued to argue, Lana got up and looked at the fight between Luan and Maggie, before the sight of Carol also watching the fight caught her attention. So the kid plumber ran to Carol as the teenager landed on the ground and looked at the fight as firmly as possible.

" _This doesn't make any sense,"_ Carol thought as she watched the fight, putting particular focus on Luan's orange aura. " _That aura requires either extreme concentration or extreme anger, but there's no way she could just Access it like it was nothing! She would need some prior knowledge of it to-_ "

"C-Carol?"

The teenager snapped back to reality and saw Lana grabbing her leg with her healthy arm. "Do you, by any chance, know what happened to Luan?"

Carol hesitated, then forced a smile. "No, I don't."

Then she turned to look back at the fight. " _I can't tell them anything about it yet, it's still too early._ "

Suddenly, the sounds of a vehicle were heard and everybody turned around to see the news truck parking nearby, with the news crew-and specially the newswoman from before-coming out and getting ready to report the scene.

Everybody who was still paying attention were surprised by the arrival, except for Carol, who was annoyed. "Oh great, these morons again," the teenager muttered, clenching her teeth. "Clyde, Haiku, Lincoln, continue helping Lucy and the twins while I go see if I can deal with these pests."

And as Carol headed for the newswoman, the reporter looked firmly at the camera and begun:

"Hello, people of Royal Woods! This is Catherine Butterfly, bringing you another slightly-weirder-than-usual news report," the newswoman moved to the side and pointed at the mutated house. "As you can see behind me, it seems that this house, which is reported to have once house Mi-"

"Hey!"

The newswoman flinched and turned around to see Carol standing nearby, arms folded. Needless to say, she was surprised to see the teenager again.

"Oh, well, I did have a feeling we would meet witnesses sooner or later," then the newswoman leaned the microphone closer to the angered Carol's mouth. "What can you tell us about this mysterious house-morphing event?"

"I can tell you that you need to stop butting into business that doesn't concern you, and that you should stop transmitting this to the general populace of the city!" Carol hissed, giving the reporter a furious glare. "Do you want to cause a major panic!?"

However, the newswoman simply smiled and chuckled to herself before answering in a... Suggestive tone.

"This isn't being transmitted to the average citizens of Royal Woods, lady. I mean, super powered girls? Mutating houses? The main station would never let me transmit stuff like this on normal television!"

Naturally, Carol was confused.

"But, if you're not transmitting this to them, then who are you transmitting this to?"

The news reporter opened her mouth, leaned the microphone towards herself... Then turned back to the camera crew.

"As you can see, faithful viewers, everybody will certainly be willing to interrupt important news broadcasts to appear on tv, which, honestly speaking, shouldn't be a surprise. We'll give you more of this news, at 5."

The cameraman turned off his camera as Carol checked the reporter's wristwatch. "Did you mean 5 pm?" she asked, somehow not scaring the newswoman in the process. "'Cause according to your watch, that's in about a half hour-"

"How much do you know about what's really happening in this situation?" the newswoman flatly, almost bluntly, inquired.

Carol stood stupefied for a moment: Did a mere news reporter really just ask her that? Right in front of both her students and their friends? And she didn't ask this earlier when the chain breakers struck first?

Nevertheless, the teenager knew probably outright telling her what she knew wouldn't be of use, and wouldn't be approved by Lori and Leni, so she tried to bluff her way out. "What?! Are you implying I know something about this?"

The newswoman was blunt in her response. "Well, you were the one who dealt with the masked girls before through scolding them as if you were their mother, and now that we meet again, a house has been transformed into some bizarre tower, the masked girls returned, and a second pair of mutant superhuman freaks are fighting against the super powered teenager from before, alongside someone I'm assuming in her friend."

Hopefully Lincoln, his sisters and their friends didn't hear that part. "You may think I'm just another stupid news reporter who's just trying to do her job, but this isn't the first, and it certainly won't be the last, bizarre thing that has happened in Royal Woods, and no matter what you have to say about it, I will report this no matter what!"

The reporter smacked Carol with her hair and returned to the cameraman, while Carol went back to the kids. "Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped," she remarked, rubbing her smacked cheek. "How is the fight going?"

"Luna's dealing with the fake Lucy and the masked Maggie and Haiku, while Luan continues to fight the emo teenager," Clyde explained as everybody looked at the sky. "It looks like they could use your help, though."

Carol prepared to leap. "Roger!"

"My name's Clyde!"

"No, as in-Tsk, I don't have time for this!"

The teenager leaped as high as she could, and promptly kicked the chain breaker Maggie and Haiku away just as they attacked Luna. "Thanks, they were starting to become a problem," Luna said with a grateful tone.

However, Carol just ignored the thanking and barked, "Listen up, Luan may be powerful right now, but the instant her power up ends, she'll be unable to move a muscle," and then Prototype Lucy and the chain breakers regrouped. "You must go and help her defeat Maggie before the time runs out in 10 minutes! Don't question anything, just go!"

The rock star and headed to aid Luan, while the proto-goth and chain breakers looked at Carol... And the masked girls left through a portal opened, and then closed, by Not-Lucy. "You sent them home?!" Carol exclaimed as the proto-goth flashed a smirk. "Why?! You know you can't defeat me alone!"

"I would be unable to beat you even with their help," the prototype goth shrugged and shook her head. "They need to be alive for the judgement of Royal Woods, and if they fight you, they'll be anything but alive by the end of it."

Then she revealed her melting arm, which was now halfway melted. "Besides, thanks to forgetting about my body's condition, it won't be long before my time in this world is over. So I want to at least try to fight someone who is neither immortal, nor easy to kill. And what a surprise..."

She flashed an ear-to-ear smile.

"You fit both of those conditions."

Carol remained silent, while the kids in the ground were... Not in the most hopeful of moods. Lucy, despite no longer being able to see, still could feel the atmosphere was getting both dreary and hopeless. Haiku and Clyde, despite trying to mask their worry to Lucy, were still notably scared of what would come. Lincoln and Lola exchanged looks and could only hope for the best.

And last but not least, Lana glanced between Carol, who she could feel had doubts about whether she should fight the prototype goth, and Prototype Lucy, who put her hands on her hips and chuckled to herself, with nary a care in the world. Of course, she was immortal, so even if Carol did manage to defeat her, it would only be a matter of time before it became completely pointless.

But even with those odds, Lana's faith was firmly with Carol.

"Don't let her get on your nerves, Carol!" the kid plumber exclaimed, gaining the attention of everybody around her, and specially the teenager herself. Impostor-Lucy just cleaned her ear and ignored her, though. "She can say whatever she wants, and mock you or mock us too, but in the end, I know you'll beat some sense into her, and payback what she and her minions or whatever did to us!"

Needless to say, Carol was flattered by her words. "Lana..."

"Besides, she said it herself: Even with help, she has no hope of beating you!" she added as everybody else gave Carol hopeful looks, minus Lola, who looked away and frowned. "So, beat her up, alright! We're counting on you!"

" _Where is this Lana whenever she comes to any of my pageants?_ " Lola thought, narrowing her eyes.

Luckily, the diva's thoughts were drowned by the sounds of everybody cheering for Carol, all while the prototype hoped the good part would begin soon. And it did, for Carol folded her arms, flew straight to the prototype and kneed her... Or would've, had the prototype not blocked the knee with her elbow, with the collision somehow releasing shock waves. With that done, the girls stared at each other for a moment before Other Lucy teleported behind Carol and kicked her... Only for Carol to teleport at the last moment and send her flying upwards with another kick.

Back with Luan and Maggie, the emo teen-now forcibly put in a monkey costume-continued to withstand and receive beating after beating from the furious, empowered Luan, who was currently spanking Maggie as hard as she could. Or in other words, she was spanking the monkey.

"All I wanted to do, heck all Giggles and I wanted to do, was bring some smiles to your face and make you happy!" the comedian growled as she started spanking faster and harder. "But instead, after everything we did, you killed her and now joined forces with the person that brought you so much pain, just to get rid of us!"

Upon hearing that, Maggie regained enough composure to smack Luan with her booty and escape her clutches. "You're the one to blame for that!" the emo stated as she begun pounding Luan's face. "Maybe if you had left me alone, instead of messaging me constantly and acting like I was your friend, I wouldn't see you as nothing more than a clingy clown!"

However, it wasn't long before Luan returned the pounding. "And if you had opened up to us, I wouldn't see you as an immature brat!"

And so, the duo continued to insult each other as the pounding became faster and more intense:

"Desperate attention-grabber!"

"Whiny edgelord!"

"Rainbow-vomit mime!"

"Boring buzzkill!"

"Cringy _punsucker_!"

"Obnoxious _angsthole_!"

With the last exchange came a clash between their fists so volatile, it separated the pair and set them flying a couple feet away, which gave Maggie both the chance to get rid of the monkey costume and shot the most painful comeback Luan had ever heard:

"Laughingstock!"

The instant she heard that, the comedian was left paralyzed as the sounds of mocking laughter filled her head, alongside people singing "Laughingstock" in a jingle-like tone, even after she covered her ears to try and block the sound. And once she realized Maggie's laughter was among the mocking chuckles, the orange aura surrounding Luan grew three sizes bigger as the comedian yelled at the skies...

Which was somehow heard from the original reality. First by the proto-twins, who silently wondered what the hell they were hearing, then by Proto-Lynn who smirked in delight. It was heard by everybody else too, but they mostly ignored it.

However, once the screaming reached Proto-Luan, the prototype comedian shed a single tear and lifted her staff, whose gemstone begun glowing yellow. "Thou who have felt the pain and misery I've lived through before!" she exclaimed as thunderclouds formed above her. "Allow me to give you the chance to do what I never could, and silence the sinful laughter!"

With that said, the prototype shot a lighting beam at the thunderclouds, which somehow transported it to the new reality and struck Luan, who felt an insane surge in power as her hair went up and turned spiky, yet it didn't turn yellow for some reason. Alongside this, the comedian had electricity moving around her body, and her eyes had become completely blank.

And not only was Maggie actually terrified of what she saw, but Luna was caught completely off-guard by her sister's appearance when she finally arrived to help. " _What in the world happened to her?_ " she thought as she felt Luan's aura had become a hybrid of normal and archaic energy.

" _My holy sister has empowered her._ "

Luna turned around to find the voice that sounded surprisingly, almost disturbingly, like her own. " _Don't be afraid, I'm not your enemy... Not yet. But what you need to know right now, is that your sister won't be able to turn back to normal until the emo has been punished._ "

"Wait, what?!" the rocker exclaimed.

Maggie turned to see the rock star just before Luan literally aimed her fingers at the emo like a gun and shot some electricity at her, paralyzing her and giving her the chance to punch Maggie in the gut, then send her plummeting to the ground with another strike.

Then, as the emo fell, Luan raised one of her arms and grinned as she charged a yellow, electrically-charged energy ball.

" _By the way, if her attack manages to hit the teenager, she'll be pulverized,_ " the voice blurted, no doubt scaring the rocker. " _If you want to stop that from happening, and save your sister from becoming a murderer, you must shot an energy blast at her own blast once she shoots it._ "

"How am I supposed to do that?" the rocker rather justifiably asked.

" _Just concentrate some of your energy into a ball and then throw it when I tell you._ "

Not seeing any other alternatives, plus not having any time to waste, Luna raised one of her arms and concentrated her energy into a purple energy ball. This, naturally, left Luna mesmerized at what she just did.

Or it would have, had Luan not shot a charged energy blast in that moment.

" _Shoot it now!_ "

Caught off-guard, Luna shot a purple energy blast right at Luan's charged blast, causing them to merge upon collision: Now the blast was purple-yellow stripped, with electricity surging across it.

And once Maggie hit the ground and was subsequently hit by the blast, a purple-yellow mushroom cloud appeared as Luan returned to her previous form, with the mushroom cloud vanishing soon afterwards.

Miraculously enough, Maggie was still alive. Unconscious, badly bruised and in the middle of a giant crater, but still very much alive.

"Luan, are you okay?!" the angelic musician inquired as she flew to her sister's side.

"I guess..." the comedian answered, grabbing her head and groaning in pain. Then she saw the aftermath of her attack, and the questions forming in her head didn't help her head pains at all. "Luna, what happened?"

"Hmm, how do I say this?" the rocker hummed to herself, then said in the most blunt, serious tone possible, "According to a voice in my head, your counterpart "empowered you", whatever that means, you charged an energy blast that would've killed Maggie, and then shot it straight at her."

The comedian gasped. "Oh gosh, did I actually kill her?! "

The rocker shook her head and put a hand in her sister's shoulder. "No, I shot a blast at your blast, causing them to merge, and the resulting attack only badly hurt and knocked her instead of outright killing her."

Luan pinched the bridge of her nose. "Dang it!"

And then Carol and Not-Lucy's fists clashing sent the two flying away. And even when they recovered and flew to help, Prototype Lucy basically multi tasked and smacked away the pair while also fighting Carol, who eventually sent the prototype flying away with a sonic scream before turning to the duo:

"Listen up, you two, this fight doesn't concern you!" and as she continued to speak, Luna felt both Carol and Other Lucy's auras. For some reason, she could feel exhaustion and fatigue in Carol's, but nothing of the sort in the prototype's. "I can deal with her just fine on my own, and besides, you already dealt with Maggie, so go back to the others and let me handle this!"

"No way, Love!" Luna replied.

"Yeah! We're powerful in our own right!" Luan added as the prototype slowly flew back to the trio. "I bet that if we work together, we'll definitely defeat her!"

Then, without warning, the prototype teleported behind the duo and split her arms into four gong-like appendages. She then struck Luna and Luan with her gongs and tried to send them plummeting to the ground with another attack, only for Carol to grab and rip off them before it was too late. Not that it mattered, since she regenerated them soon afterwards.

"Listen to the lady, copycats!" Proto Lucy hissed at the pair. "This has nothing to do with you, so scram!"

"Hah, how funny, you're speaking to us as if you actually had any authority over us!" Luan scoffed with a smug smile. "Why's that? Are you so afraid that you'll be beaten if we work together that you'd rather face her alone?"

The prototype wasn't happy with the response.

"Tsk, fine, if you want to be stubborn, then there's only one way to deal with you!"

Proto Lucy teleported right in front of Luan, who could barely register what happened before the proto-goth punched her right in the heart.

"Spades Series: Heartbreaker!"

Suddenly, Luan felt a sharp pain in her gut for a moment before her heart abruptly stopped, cancelling both her orange aura and powered form. And unfortunately, due to what Carol said earlier, the expiration of the orange aura rendered her unable to move at all.

"I... I can't move..." the comedian promptly tried to catch her breath. "...I can't breath!"

The gothic prototype took out her fist and waved goodbye as Luan fell and crash landed into the ground. And then she tried to do the same with Luna, and the angelic rocker was sent plummeting next to Luan with a kick, and it was at this point that Carol decided to stop joking around and get serious: She bum rushed the prototype and smacked her repeatedly with a rapid barrage of punches and kicks before sending her to the ground with a kick so hard, the impact left a large crater.

Unfortunately, once the prototype got out of the crater, her demented laughter implied she was enjoying herself.

"Yes, this is exactly what I've been waiting for!" the prototype goth exclaimed as she gave the incoming teenager a satisfied grin. "Not a one-sided beating like what Lynn gave me!"

Then she easily dodged Carol's punch, only for her to open two portals and send kicks at them. "Not an effortless waste of time like babysitting Lily!" the proto-goth exclaimed as two more portals opened to her left and right.

Then Carol's kicks came out of the other portals and hit her right in the stomach, which while bringing tons of pain to her, also brought her delight, judging by her smile as she said, "An actual fight where I must put some effort!"

The proto-goth then kicked Carol's kicks right back at her, before opening her mouth and swinging a pair of tentacle-swords right at the teen girl, who successfully blocked them with her bare hands. And as the battled continued, everybody at the sidelines couldn't help but be confused about a particular aspect of the fight.

"Why isn't she scared?" Haiku pondered, firmly looking at Pseudo-Lucy. "Carol's kicking her butt, and yet she's acting like this is some kind of game. But why?"

"'Cause It's just a matter of time before she turns the tables."

Everybody turned to look at Lucy, who had managed to calm down enough to stop crying and only occasionally breath heavily. However, the same couldn't be said for everybody else when she explained what she meant:

"Back inside the house, my counterpart boasted about the fact that she's basically immortal: Any damage I could do to her, she would regenerate instantly. Even destroying her head did absolutely nothing!"

"And I don't know why," Luna blurted while she tried to heal Luan, with the attention now going to her. "But while I can feel Carol's energy and stamina depleting, althought really dang slowly, Other Lucy isn't even coming close to getting tired. In fact, she isn't losing energy at all!"

Naturally, everyone was horrified at the revelation, specially because once they turned back to the fight, they saw Carol was sweating and catching her breath as she tried to hit Proto Lucy, who constantly teleported out of her reach.

"So that means that Carol..." Lana uttered, covering her mouth in horror.

Then, Carol shot an electric energy blast at the prototype, who deflected it towards Luan. Fortunately, this made her heart beat again, giving Luna the chance to fly back to help Carol. Unfortunately, everybody could still feel that even with Luna's help, the fight was pretty much impossible to win.

But amongst the despair and disbelief of the team, there was hope: Lincoln himself. "I'm gonna go see if I can convince Other Lucy to stop fighting," the boy proclaimed, shocking everyone, but specially her sisters. "After all, I can't just stay here and watch Carol fight a losing battle after what you just told me!"

Then, just before he took off, Lucy got on her feet and ran to Lincoln, only to tumble on her way there. Luckily, the boy managed to grab a hold of her before she hit the ground.

"But Lincoln, if you do go there, my counterpart's going to kick your butt, or worse!" the goth clung closer to her brother's chest as he brushed her hair. "Haiku, Clyde, Luna, Luan, everybody has been hurt so badly by her up to this point. I don't want you to get hurt too!"

Though he could see the goth's point, there was no other choice: If he stood behind, Carol would eventually lose, and then Proto-Lucy would do horrors to her. So the boy kissed Lucy's forehead, gently put her on the ground and brushed her hair one last time before giving his response:

"It's okay, Lucy, I'm used to being in harm's way."

With that said, the boy leaped off to help Carol as Lucy shed a single tear and said "Lincoln" in hopeful worry. And back with the fight, Carol breath heavily as her arms, now too overexert to move, stood limp while the prototype goth flew nearby, arms folded behind her back and with a smug smile.

"Wow, your turn went on for a quite long time, didn't it? And it looks like your arms have gone limp from overexertion," the proto-goth smugly remarked, while Carol continued to glare at her in defiance. "It was about time I got to beat you up in return!"

Proto Lucy formed a fist and flew straight for Carol, who narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth right before Lincoln appeared in the way and spread his arms. However, the prototype stopped just before she hit Lincoln.

"Lincoln?" Carol asked, partially surprised, but mostly scared.

"I'll take it from here, Carol, go back with the others and rest up," the boy answered, firmly focusing on the prototype goth.

"The lord and savior has given you an order," Proto Lucy hissed at Carol as she lowered her arm and backed away. "So it would be wise of you to obey him."

Naturally needing a rest, Carol nodded and gave Lincoln a grateful smile before she flew back to the ground, leaving Lincoln and Proto Lucy behind to engage in the most intense fight they had ever been: A stare fight. The instant she revealed her-or more specifically, Lucy's-eyes, however, the boy spoke:

"Other Lucy, if you really think I'm some sort of god, and you won't defy me when I give you an order," Lincoln gave the proto-goth the pointer finger and ordered, "Then I demand that you give me back Lucy's eyes!"

The prototypical goth remained silent and motionless for a moment, with everybody else-specially Lincoln-hoping she would give an answer soon enough. After a couple more seconds in silence, the prototype smiled, parted her hair to reveal Lucy's blue eyes and then promptly ripped them off, with viscera and everything.

"Okay, that was disgusting, but at least you did what I told you to do," the boy remarked, wincing from the sight. "Now-"

Without warning, Proto Lucy crushed the eyes with her palms before throwing the remains at Lincoln, who, of course, dodged them. "Why did you do that!?" the boy hissed in disgust and anger.

"You said you wanted me to give you back Lucy's eyes," the prototype smirked. "You didn't say you wanted them intact!"

"Alright, that's it!" the boy formed a pair of fists and flew to the girl. "I gave you the chance to redeem yourself, but now I see you're beyond redemption! Take this!"

Lincoln sent a pair of punches at Proto Lucy, who effortlessly dodged them and shot a stern look at Lincoln... And did nothing, even thought she had more tan enough to punch, kick, do something to the boy. And yet, she refrained from doing so.

"Why aren't you attacking?" Lincoln eventually asked, narrowing his eyes. "I'm not complaining, but it doesn't make any sense."

"It does: As a practitioner of Lincolnism, you're the lord and savior of this reality, as well as my one and true god," the goth explained before getting on her knees and bowing down. Yes, she did this mid-air. "To hurt you, and thus tarnish your pure and perfect image, would be to sentence me to one of the holy punishments, to be carried out by sisters Lori, Leni, and Luna."

With this new information revealed, nearly everybody flinched and gasped in shock, but specially Luna, who believed she would somehow carry said punishment, whatever it was. Lincoln, meanwhile, had no idea what she was talking about, and was more confused than anything.

"Dang, punish you just for hurting Lincoln?" the angelic rocker remarked, unaware that the more she spoke, the angrier the proto-goth became. "Listen, I'd be more than happy to hurt you after all you did, but-"

Then, the goth snapped.

"Not you, you noisy copy- _cunt_!"

She then flew to Luna and smacked her right in the area where her heart would be.

"The original Luna!"

Then, she did... Something to said heart, which caused Luna to spit out blood, revert back to her base form and fall down to the ground.

"The _true_ Luna."

Once the rocker hit the ground, Carol wasted no time to go to her and try to get her heart up and running again with electricity. And as Lincoln continued to attack Prototype Lucy-who dodged every single thing he threw at her-Lucy got up and looked at the fight while Clyde and Haiku backed away. Then, without warning, a dark grey aura surrounded the girl and her arms flailed as she started to hiss.

"First Haiku... Then Giggles... Then Clyde... Then my sisters..."

Haiku and Clyde exchanged worried looks as Lucy's arms bulged and contorted, with an L-shaped symbol appearing on her left arm.

"She has hurt everyone I care about..."

What was more surprising, however, was that after convulsing for a while, Lucy's arm soon healed back to full health. Almost as if they were never broken in the first place.

"Ever since I summoned her, all she's done is bring me and everybody pain and misery!"

Then she turned to the dark-skinned geek and the poet, revealing she was not only crying, but her eyes had become grey with black sclera.

"Haiku, Clyde... Forgive me. I was foolish to think that I could just summon a demon and not have it bite me in the butt later. But now..."

She turned back to the Lincoln and her counterpart, and stopped their fighting to look at the girl. Notably, while Lincoln was obviously surprised and worried, the copycat goth was more along the likes of unimpressed.

"Now I know she's a mistake I need to fix!"

The aura engulfed the goth, and her shadowy figure soon contorted into that of an equine creature that neighed in apparent pain and agony as bony structure came out of their forehead and sides, the former in the form of a horn, and the latter in the form of bat-like wings.

"What's going on with Lucy?!" Lincoln asked, grabbing his head.

"Your sister's achieving her true "angel" form," Lucy's counterpart answered, with a notable hint of mocking satisfaction. "Unfortunately, to do this, she'll first become a mindless abomination that'll be unable to recognize friend from foe. She'll be a danger to everyone."

She turned to Lincoln and flashed a smirk.

"Including you."

The boy narrowed his eyes before he flew down and landed in front of the transforming beast, who looked firmly at him with a look of both agonizing worry. They then tried to make him go away by making the aura stronger. It worked for Haiku, Clyde, the other sisters and Carol, but Lincoln stood his ground despite the intensity.

"Lucy, listen to me!" the boy exclaimed while the beast stood still and listened. "You're going to turn into a mindless monster if you keep this up! I know you're probably upset because you summoned that imposter of yours-"

"Um, excuse me, no offense my lord, but I'm the original!" the prototype goth complained. "Get it right!"

The boy just ignored her and continued speaking. "But the point is, turning into a monster won't help anybody! Listen, there's probably another way we can deal with her, you just need to be a bit more patient!"

Then, he extended his hand towards the beast. "So please, turn back to normal!"

The beast just continued to stare.

"Please, Lucy..."

Lincoln shed a single tear.

"I don't want to lose you..."

After a couple more seconds in silence, the beast lifted one of its front leg and grabbed Lincoln's hand, before shedding a single tear and stated:

"Lin... Coln..."

Soon enough, the beast' body was covered by light, and the aura grew smaller as the beast started to morph from its current form to that of Lucy, but with the wings and the horn remaining. Upon seeing this, Pseudo-Lucy tried to fly after the pair, but she was stopped by Luna, Luan, and Carol, who fought the prototype evenly as Lucy's aura vanished and revealed her renewed form.

She was basically herself, but with the spot where her eyes would be glowing white, and behind her back were a pair of bat-like wings, while in her forehead was a short, stubby black horn.

Then, Lucy hugged her brother as he soon returned the favor, and brushed the back of her head. "Thanks, Lincoln," she whispered to his ear.

"Anytime, Lucy," the guy tightened the hug. "Anytime."

And then Proto-Lucy was sent crashing into the ground, with Luna, Luan and Carol landing nearby and giving the duo a wink as the prototype got back up. And much to her horror, the newly transformed Lucy separated from Lincoln and got ready to attack her.

"This should be impossible!" the prototype goth stomped her ground while Lucy cracked her knuckles. "There's no way you could just-"

"Silence!"

Lucy's counterpart closed her mouth, and whatever smug superiority she had before was replaced by a solemn, honest fear of what Lucy would do next. A sight that brought delight everyone, but specially Lucy, or should I say Lucyfer, who flashed a satisfactory smile before declaring, with a confident tone:

"I'm no longer the Lucy Loud that you blinded before, other me! Or should I say, Vine?"

Proto Lucy flinched and backed away, while everybody else raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Now, I'm the angel of light, Lucyfer!"

Then, she gave her the pointer finger, causing the prototype goth to back away frightened, while Lucyfer proclaimed:

"And with the light I control once more, I shall seal you right back into the distorted dimension corpse you came from!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Everybody that wasn't Lucyfer or Proto Lucy currently stood at the sidelines, with Carol, Lincoln, Haiku, Clyde and most of the sisters cheering on their Lucy. Lola, however, wasn't afraid to complain about it, and the news reported was more concerned about delivering the news rather than getting to somewhere safe, but neither of those things were anything new.

"You know, I'm kind of upset about the fact that after everything that's happened, It's up to Lucy to deal with that gothic copycat," the diva complained, rolling her eyes. "I mean, we had our freaking arms ripped off by her minions, and now it's up to Lucy, or Lucyfer, or whatever we're supposed to call her now, to beat up that impostor of hers?"

"Lucy was the one who summoned her counterpart in the first place," Lincoln argued, and giving her angelic sister a confident look, he stated, "She caused this whole problem by her hand, so It's only fair she seals her back herself."

"Well, if that's so true, then let me ask you one thing," Lola narrowed her eyes, "If Lucy's responsible for all of this, and it's only fair that she seals her counterpart herself, then why did we even need to be here in the first place?!"

Lincoln refused to answer. Either that, or he couldn't of how to answer in the first place.


	22. Battle of Goths

**Alright, so some of you-or maybe all of you-are wondering why I'm uploading another chapter of Chains of Reality when I just uploaded a chapter yesterday. Well, here's the thing: I want to get the Proto-Lucy story arc finished already, before it drags on. I mean, I don't think it's dragging on, but you're not me, so you may not think the same.**

 **Besides, there's gonna be a period of "filler-ish" chapters between this and the next arc, so the faster we get there, the quicker it can be over with. Also, before you go, "Y THIS NO 6000 WORDS OR MORE?!"**

 **Buddy, I'll only add as much as necessary on each chapter. If I think I can add something on a chapter, then I'll add it, if I think I need to remove something, I'll see if I remove it, but if I feel content with the chapter, or it gets the point across, then I won't do anything.**

 **So, let's not waste anymore time and hop right on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the battle with Prototype Lucy grows even more intense as despite Maggie being defeated, the prototype returned in kind by knocking out Luna and Luan, and even when Carol entered the fray to try and buy time for everyone, it was clear she was fighting a losing battle.**

 **With all of this in mind, Lucy felt a power surge through her, and she nearly turned into a mindless beast in order to achieve her angelic form. However, through Lincoln's words, she regained enough of her sentience in order to capture that power, and ascend into angeloidhood!**

 **And now, with the angel of light's resurgence, Lucy has grown determined to end her counterpart's tyranny once and for all!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Darkness Versus Light! Original Versus Copycat! Demon Versus Angel! The Battle of Goths Begins!**

* * *

 _Meanwhile, at the Santiago household..._

Someone knocked the door as Bobby watched a news report on the tv. Ronnie-her legs still kinda sore from the extreme dancing with Polly-ran to the door and said "I'll go answer!" only to derail at the "answer" as she realized she still wasn't 100%, and promptly crashed right next to the door. So Bobby got up, answered the door, and found Lori and Leni standing outside.

"Hi Bobby Boo-Boo Bear!" Lori chirped in a surprisingly cheerful tone. Then she turned to Ronnie and greeted, with a deadpan tone that would make Lucy blush, "Hi Ronnie."

The tomboy stood up and gave the young woman a thumbs up. Which she promptly ignored as she and Leni went inside. "So, for what reason did you come?" Bobby inquired as he guided the duo, and his younger sister, to the couch. "I didn't ask you to come here earlier. I mean, after what I saw, I definitely would've called you, but-"

"We get it, Bobby," Lori growled. "Leni told me we should come here, so I figured you or Ronnie could keep her company, specially since she's not in the best condition."

Leni flashed a happy, if dizzy, smile at the boy. Although, even if her smile seemed genuine, the guy couldn't help but feel the handicapped fashionista had ulterior motives.

Luckily, his attention was soon caught again when Lori asked, "Anyway, you were saying?"

"Yeah, right: I checked the news, and I found something interesting," everybody sat down on the couch, with Ronnie and Leni sitting right next to Bobby. Lori wasn't particularly happy at the sight, but dealt with it for her sister's sake. "It was a news report, one dealing with your sisters. The younger ones, in particular."

"Great, just what we needed: The younger pests getting into trouble, like always," Lori rolled her eyes and earned a jab from Leni. "Alright then, let's see what this is all about."

Everyone turned to watch the report, and in that moment, they saw Proto Lucy shivering while Lucyfer stood still and got ready to fight. For some reason, while Bobby and Ronnie were shocked at the sight, Leni was more delighted and Lori got suspicious. There was a hint of worry too, but the feeling of suspicion was far greater.

" _Just what is she planning?_ " the teenager thought, narrowing her eyes.

 _Meanwhile, at the Loud house..._

Lynn sat on the couch, breathing heavily while sporting a disappointed look. She had put back her normal outfit, and luckily she hadn't destroyed the house, but "Aw dang it, I wish I knew staying alone at home would get boring so fast!" the jock whined. "What am I supposed to do now? It's not like I know if anybody's coming back home soon."

And then, a voice spoke,

"Well, perhaps I can help fix your boredom?"

Lynn turned around, and saw her prototype counterpart sitting besides her, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. Naturally, she was horrified at seeing her again.

"You again!?" Lynn shouted, pointing at the prototype. "Weren't you satisfied with the mental anguish you put me through before?!"

"Ha, you're so adorable! I mean, it's one thing to hurt you once, but it's another to hurt you enough to actually satisfy me," Proto Lynn mockingly answered, and of course, her counterpart had no idea what she was talking about. "After all, taking everything you did to us into account, I'll never be satisfied! Besides, I'm always open for helping you pass time. It just so happens that I do it by hurting you as much as possible."

"Well, don't even think about asking me again, because I'm not going to accept your offer!" Lynn slapped her counterpart... And not only did she wind up hurting her own hand, but Proto Lynn didn't even seem fazed. "Besides, I have other ways to pass time!"

The Proto-Jock just chuckled. "Are you refusing my offer because you legitimately have other ways to pass time," she leaned closer, until she and her counterpart stood face-to-face, with the prototype's piercing red eyes penetrating through Lynn's tough facade. "Or is it because you're such a weakling you don't want to feel hurt ever again? Such a weakling, that you would say anything, just to convince me to not put you through the pain you deserve, which I will do regardless of your opinion about the matter?!"

Lynn fell silent. And surprisingly enough, her counterpart didn't do anything bad to her, she just laughed and slowly separated from her. Not that Lynn went back to being a tough, confident tomboy afterwards.

"Good girl, stay silent, nothing you say has any value in the first place," then she licked her cheek while brushing her hair with one hand, while moving her hand down her stomach, which she tightly pinched. "Now, do you want to continue waiting for your sisters to come back? Or would you rather spend time, by being my personal, mental punching bag?"

And with a sultry tone, she whispered to her ear,

"I got my mental whip and mind chains ready."

Without warning, Lynn pushed her counterpart away and grabbed the control remote. "L-Let's watch some tv instead!" the athlete turned the tv on and surfed the channels as fast as she could. "After all, nothing better to pass time than losing the track of it while watching some cartoons!"

Proto Lynn was rather nonchalant at the reaction.

"Try to avoid the Kidney Channel if you can, that channel is nothing more than stupid, corny sitcoms."

But then, the duo reached the same news report as the one in the Santiago household, and stated in unison:

"Wait, is that Lucy?"

 _At some top-secret organization..._

The vehicle that Mrs. Johnson drove parked outside the organization alongside many other pitch black cars and trucks. The teacher and Lisa promptly got out and went inside, landing at a decontamination hall before they entered the organization for real.

Inside, several seemingly unimportant adult cititzens of Royal Woods, like Mr. Grouse, Flip, and so on and so forth, with everyone wearing a white lab coat and focusing on either working on several weapon-like prototypes, or checking out some glowing dots on monitors, one pink, one blue, and in fact, those monitors all shared colors with the proto-sisters.

Oh, and the grey one had two glowing dots instead of one, which were seemingly clashing constantly while they were being watched by Maggie's mother. So of course, Lisa tried to approach her, but was stopped by Mrs. Johnson, who took her hand and brought her to two figures watching the news report in a large screen.

These figures were, of course, Rita and Lynn Sr., the Loud parents.

"What's going on, mom and dad?" Lisa asked, tilting her head as she caught the adults' attention.

Everybody gave Lisa a surprised look, though Mrs. Johnson at least looked amused. "I mean, mother and father units?"

The couple exchanged looks, then showed Lisa the news report. "Well, see for yourself."

 _Finally, back at the backyard of Maggie's house..._

Everybody that wasn't Lucyfer or Proto Lucy currently stood at the sidelines, with Carol, Lincoln, Haiku, Clyde and most of the sisters cheering on their Lucy. Lola, however, wasn't afraid to complain about it, and the news reported was more concerned about delivering the news rather than getting to somewhere safe, but neither of those things were anything new.

"You know, I'm kind of upset about the fact that after everything that's happened, It's up to Lucy to deal with that gothic copycat," the diva complained, rolling her eyes. "I mean, we had our freaking arms ripped off by her minions, and now it's up to Lucy, or Lucyfer, or whatever we're supposed to call her now, to beat up that impostor of hers?"

"Lucy was the one who summoned her counterpart in the first place," Lincoln argued, and giving her angelic sister a confident look, he stated, "She caused this whole problem by her hand, so It's only fair she seals her back herself."

"Well, if that's so true, then let me ask you one thing," Lola narrowed her eyes, "If Lucy's responsible for all of this, and it's only fair that she seals her counterpart herself, then why did we even need to be here in the first place?!"

Lincoln refused to answer. Either that, or he couldn't of how to answer in the first place.

With that said, Lucyfer flashed a smirk at her counterpart before she spread her wings, teleported straight to her and smacked her into the sky with said wings. The prototype goth, however, soon recovered her composure as Lucyfer flew to her, so she shot a barrage of energy blasts at her, which the angel easily deflected back at her.

However, the prototype deflected the shots back, and Lucyfer returned the favor, causing them to engage in what basically amounted to "energy blast volleyball", though Proto Lucy started to lose control as Lucyfer got closer to her. Finally, when they were face-to-face, Lucyfer accumulated all the energy, absorbed it into her fist, then punched half of her counterpart's face so hard, it exploded into bloody smithereens, though this was healed soon afterwards.

And the pounding continued as the news report continued to speak rather nonchalantly about the situation.

"We advise those coming to the Swagger household to stay at least four meters away, as besides of the hazardous nature of the mutated building, there's currently an intense battle between look alikes that could potentially endanger anybody who gets too close."

Unfortunately, Luna heard what she said all the way with the group, so she walked closer to her and asked, "Wait, did you say, the "Swagger" household?"

The reporter nonchalantly answered, "Why yes, this used to be where the legendary musician Mick Swagger used to live in."

Then, without warning, Luna grabbed the reporter by the neck of her shirt and pulled her closer to her. "Live in what way?! Did he live here with his parents?! His children?! Did he own the house?! Did he-"

Understandably, the report neither let Luna finish, not did she reveal any information about the case. No, instead, she pushed her away and hissed:

"Listen up, you obsessive brat, I wouldn't be able to tell you even if I wanted to! Not only because I'm not allowed to state such personal and private information on-camera, but because I legit don't know anything about it! All I know is that he used to live here, and that's it, so take your butt back to where you came from and let me do my report in peace!"

Luan quickly grabbed Luna and took her back to her group as the reporter threw a glare at her direction, then turned to the cameraman and said, "Sorry for that little outburst, everybody, we'll be going back to the report right away-"

And as that happened, the energy volleyball finally ended in Proto Lucy's disadvantage, and with all the energy blasts hitting the prototype. Whatever disfigurement she suffered from the attack were quickly healed, but that didn't stop Lucyfer from getting on her nerves.

"What's wrong, Vine?" she inquired as her counterpart clenched her teeth. "Not so cocky when you're dealing with someone stronger than you?"

Then the proto-goth charged another energy blast. "Shut up!"

Lucyfer, however, dodged the blast and appeared right in front of her counterpart, who flinched and backed away... As her supposed impostor laughed at her face. "Are you scared, Vine? Scared of having the tables turned on you so hard, all you can see in the future is your failure?!"

But the proto-goth wouldn't let herself be mocked.

"I told you to shut up!"

She threw a rapid barrage of punches and kicks at Lucyfer, who easily blocked every single thing she threw at her. However, in the middle of the barrage, Lucyfer flashed a smile that made her counterpart realize something horrific.

" _Dang it! If I don't do something quick, she's going to kill me, then kill me again and again once I regenerate! Or worse: kill me, then seal me mid-recovery! But what am I supposed to do if she's no longer weaker than me?!_ "

Suddenly, Lucyfer grabbed both of Proto Lucy's fists, crushed them, then headbutted her before ripping off her arms... Which she regenerated soon afterwards.

"Now, Vine," Lucyfer immediately got Proto Lucy's attention. "Before I get rid of you, I have something to ask you."

The prototype goth cringed. " _Oh great, what now?_ "

Lucyfer raised her arm, gave her counerpart the pointer finger and asked, "What did you do to Haiku and Maggie that gave them those powers and drove Maggie insane?! After all, Maggie said you empowered her, and since Haiku got the same powers as her, it's safe to assume you empowered her too!"

" _How did she come into that conclusion if I never told her anything about it?_ " Haiku thought, raising an eyebrow.

"So, be honest if you want your beating to be less brutal than intended," Lucyfer hissed. "Why did you empower and hurt Haiku and Maggie?!"

However, the prototype didn't respond. Instead, she smirked and turned to look at Maggie, who was still knocked out cold on the ground. So she teleported right next to her, flipped her over and touched her stomach, which started to contort and convulse, with at least four small... Things visibly bulging in there.

And while that happened, those who were witnessing the events through the news could only cringe and wince in disgust, but specially Maggie's own mother, who went in between the Loud parents and Lisa in order to see the event more clearly. "Maggie?!"

Lucyfer quickly flew down and tried to strike her counterpart, but she simply snapped her fingers and summoned a transparent, grey spherical shield around her and Maggie. A shield so strong, Lucyfer's attacks did nothing to it.

"What the?! How long have you been able to do this?!" the angelic goth inquired.

The only thing she got from her counterpart in response was a booty shake, then her blowing a raspberry right at her face.

"Oh my gosh, my little babies, I'm so sorry I left you there for so long," the prototype told the stomach, which started to look... Pregnant... "But don't worry, mom's going to take you back home. Now get out of that wretched sack of sin and go back in."

The bulges grew bigger, then suddenly stopped, then traveled all the way over to Maggie's throat, then escaped out of her mouth. Outside of grossing out anybody who witnessed the event, it also revealed how the hishurazch looked like: They were dark grey, amorphous things with a single eye, and several tentacles around their "bodies".

Then Proto Lucy grabbed one of the things, then lifted it closer to her face. "Did you leave behind something special for your little host?"

The abomination nodded. "Good boy, now go back inside."

Proto Lucy opened her mouth, and the abominations hopped in. She basically swallowed them next, then clutched her stomach, which felt... Incomplete. So of course, she flashed a glare at Haiku.

The shield vanished and Lucyfer tried to attack, but her impostor teleported right next to Haiku, kidnapped her, and teleported away before anybody could do anything about it.

She and Lucyfer returned to the sky, and the proto-goth chuckled as the empowered poet tried to fight off her grasp, with little to no success. "Leave her alone, Vine!" the angelic goth barked. "You've hurt her enough!"

The prototype licked her lips, flashed a smirk at Haiku, then hugged her before basically kissing her... Or so it seemed. For a brief moment, the abominations inside Haiku contorted and convulsed inside her body, causing her pain so agonizing she cried in pain immediately.

Then the abominations crawled from her stomach to her throat, then went from her mouth to Proto Lucy's, who firmly looked at her counterpart as Haiku slowly calmed down... In fact, she looked like she would faint any moment now. And naturally, Lucyfer's anger grew three times bigger.

"Why you little!"

The angelic goth flew to her counterpart and almost threw a punch at her, right before she used Haiku as a meat shield, causing Lucyfer to stop right in her tracks, giving her counterpart the perfect chance to smack her using the hurt poet as a club. Not that it worked any better than last time she was used as such.

"Alright, I ain't staying here anymore!" Lola exclaimed as she got up and prepared to leap. "Come on, Lana, let's go help her!"

"R-Right!"

The twins leapt and flew towards the fight, but were promptly stopped by Lincoln, who teleported right in front of them and, once they went past him, grabbed their legs and held them tightly.

"Let us go, Lincoln!" Lola demanded.

"Yeah, we need to go help Lucy!" Lana added.

"Lola, Lana, I'm sorry, but this is something Lucy has to deal with on her own!" the boy vehemently stated. "Besides, you couldn't even manage to faze her underlings before they ripped off your arms, what makes you think you'll be able to do anything to her?"

"Lincoln has a point," Carol teleported close to the trio and grabbed the remaining legs, upon which she helped the boy pull the pair back to the ground. "Proto Lucy's leagues above those chain breakers in strength, and unlike them, she has no restrictions or any restraint whatsoever. The chain breakers only ripped off your arms because that was their priority, but if you even look at her wrong, then you'll be lucky if she only decides to kill you!"

And as she tried to escape from her brother and Carol's grasp, Lola caught a glimpse of Luna and Luan watching the fight with worry, which wound up reminding her of another issue.

"Well, why aren't Luna and Luan helping ?!" the diva complained, right before Carol and Lincoln pinned her and Lana to the ground. "They're stronger than us, and perfectly available, and yet they're sitting there doing nothing!"

"I'm still exhausted from that power up I used by accident!" Luan explained, scratching her head. "What even was that anyway?"

"And besides, I can sense both Lucy and her counterpart's energy," Luna added, narrowing her eyes. "And trust me, Lucy has more than enough power to defeat her impostor on her own!"

Proto Lucy somehow heard that from her position, and shouted at the people below, " _I'm_ not the impostor! _She's_ the impostor! Get it right!"

Lucyfer managed to get a free hit there, and quickly followed it with a rapid barrage of attacks that carefully avoided hurting Haiku in the process. Clyde, Lincoln, Carol and Lucy's sisters rejoiced and cheered her on in delight.

And before long, Lucyfer charged a punch, then threw it at her counterpart, who placed Haiku as a meat shield. However, Lucyfer snatched Haiku, hit her with said fist to heal her, then the pair blew raspberries at the flabbergasted copycat before Lucyfer sent her impostor flying with a kick.

So the duo took this time to dust themselves and then hug. "Are you okay, Haiku?" Lucyfer asked, patting her friend's back. "I'm so sorry I summoned my doppelganger into this world. I honestly didn't think it would result in so much pain and agony."

"It's alright, Lucy. I can barely understand what happened up to this point, but at least I can understand you feel sorry for it." Haiku tightened the hug. "Besides, as long as you seal her away eventually, at least this story'll have a happy ending."

She just had to talk, didn't she?

Proto Lucy recovered and dashed straight for the duo, ready to strike once more. So Lucyfer threw Haiku high up in the sky, got ready to counter her impostor's attack... And was then caught off-guard when she stopped mid-flight and went to grab Haiku for herself.

Lucyfer chased after her, but Other Lucy got to Haiku first, who she used as a club to smack Lucyfer all the way to the ground, leaving a large crater from the impact. And once she got up, Lucyfer's patience had officially ran out. That, and her L-symbol was glowing.

"You know what? I don't even know why I decided to play around for so long!" the angelic goth proclaimed, gaining a dark grey, fiery aura. "I'm going to do what I should have done from the start: seal you back into the hell I summoned you!"

Proto Lucy just raised an eyebrow in condescending amusement. Which she kept even as Lucyfer's horn and wings were engulfed in orange-ish energy, followed by her fists being enveloped by the same energy. This was followed by Lucy's aura growing even bigger, and her flying straight for her counterpart.

However, this failed to falter the prototype's smug disposition.

"Heh, stupid little copycat, thinking I'll just let her seal me like it was nothing," Proto Lucy scoffed, then charged an energy blast with her free hand. "Well, if she won't be playing around anymore, then neither will I!"

Realizing what she would do, Haiku bit Proto Lucy's arm hard enough to make her release her, then promptly got on her back and clung to her. Naturally, the proto-goth stopped charging the energy attack and tried to get Haiku off, just as Lucyfer stopped right on her tracks and watched the pair struggle.

"Let me go, you second-rate, amateur poet!" Proto Lucy barked as she desperately tried to get Haiku off her back.

"Lucy, I won't be able to hold her back for long!" Haiku proclaimed as the angel suddenly stopped charging her attack. "You must do whatever attack you were going to do and get rid of this pest right now!"

"But Haiku, if I do it, you could potentially die too!" Lucyfer answered, shivering as she tried to keep the large energy surge in her horn and hands intact. "After everything we've been through, all because of my stupid decision to make the ritual, the last thing I want to happen is for you to die!"

However, Haiku was going to have none of the stuff. "Lucy, if you don't get rid of your imposter right now, everyone will die!"

"Again, she's the imposter, I'm the original!" Proto Lucy hissed in exasperation before flailing her arms wildly. "How is that difficult to understand!?"

Haiku tightened her hold. "Lucy, just do it!"

Then, shedding a single tear, she stated:

"It'll be ok."

Unable to hold the energy anymore, Lucyfer yelled at the heavens as she finished charging her attack and charged straight for her counterpart, shedding tears as she did.

"For all the people you hurt, and for all the pain you caused everyone, it's over, Vine!" Lucyfer exclaimed as she got closer and closer to the pair. "Royal Alicornian Verdict: Magical Incarceration!"

She stabbed both Proto Lucy and Haiku through the stomach with her empowered horn, before piercing their bodies with her charged fists, causing the pair to separate and be left with large holes where their bellies used to be.

But while the audience down below and the reporter were left speechless from the event, those who watched the news report were overjoyed. Firstly, at the organization, Lynn Sr. and Rita hugged each other and jumped up and down alongside Lisa, and everybody else in the building for that matter.

However, it wasn't long before the adults eyed the excited four-year-old, which caused her to try and return to her stoic demeanor.

"I mean, uh, I knew she was going to win," the young scientist remarked as she adjusted her glasses. "Lookalike or not, nobody could be able to replace a Loud. That, and whatever stuff happened to her that gave her a large increase in power probably helped."

Lisa put on a nervous smile, and everybody returned to their business soon afterwards, with the parents crouching down to Lisa's size and telling her, "We need to discuss your woodroid idea."

And while that happened, there was also rejoice in the Santiago household: Bobby and Lori hugged each other, while Ronnie spun in circles and flailed her arms up and down. Leni, meanwhile, just put on a satisfied smile, which briefly turned into a smile when her eyes flashed light blue.

Finally, Lynn got up and shook her booty in front of her counterpart at the Loud house, seemingly uncaring that her counterpart was trying to focus on the tv. Luckily, a single glare from her managed to put her back in her place.

And back at the fight, Proto Lucy crashed into the ground, while Lucyfer flew to Haiku and caught her before landing safely on the ground, upon which she turned back into Lucy. Unfortunately, the goth wasn't strong enough to lift Haiku, so the duo fell almost immediately.

"I'm sorry this had to happen, Haiku," the goth told the injured poet.

However, Haiku grabbed Lucy's hand and stated, "I'm not, as long as you dealt the finishing blow to that jerk, I'm okay with it." with a smile.

"Haiku..."

Everybody, minus the news crew who simply left the scene, headed to Lucy and Haiku. "She won't live for much longer if left in this state," Carol grabbed Haiku and lifted her. "Be right back."

The teenager teleported away, and everybody took the time to rest. It's not like Proto Lucy would be that much of a problem anymore, what with the big hole where her gut used to be. Granted, her grunts of pain did get annoying after a while, since even as she clearly showed she was in pain as she got up, nobody could muster up any sympathy for her.

And then dark grey chains came out of inside her body and wrapped themselves around her, successfully capturing her as a dark grey portal opened up in the sky, and judging from her terrified expression, she knew what would be coming next. However, if that was the last everybody would see from her in a while, then she would make sure they remembered her.

"I want you all to listen, and have this encrusted in your minds, for those who are cocky won't be forgiven by the lord!"

She continued to speak as the chains forcefully dragged her towards the portal. And judging by her tone, she wasn't at all upset at her loss. In fact, she seemed excited. And what she said next proved why:

"With every loss, a victory will follow! And for every victory, a loss shall follow!"

Proto Lucy laughed like a maniac as the chains finally dragged her all the way into the portal, which closed itself out of existence afterwards. And naturally, everybody was caught contemplating about what she said, though how they contemplated it differed from person to person.

The twins eyed their healed stubs, and couldn't help but feel that their arms wouldn't be the only thing they would lose next time. After all, if Lucy's counterpart approved of her minions ripping off their arms, who knows what the other sisters could do?

Clyde rubbed the back of his head as he grew worried for Haiku's health, and Lincoln's feelings towards the matter. After all, the prototype did claim Lincoln was god, and that hurting him would cause her to be punished, but could she really be trusted?

Lincoln, likewise, pondered about why each of the other sisters so far referred to him as a deity, and refused to hurt him, instead only going after his own sisters. He turned to Lucy, who was wondering the same thing, but it wasn't long before the pair recognized they were just as lost as everyone else.

Luna and Luan, meanwhile, sat on the ground and caught their breath, with the latter resting her head on the former's shoulder as she eyed the joke flower she carried on her shirt. It reminded her not only of the joke flower that got her and Lincoln to meet her counterpart, but also of Giggles' flower.

And that was basically the end of the contemplation, since everyone's attention was caught when something unexpected happened:

Maggie woke up, and flashed a silent, blank look at the team, as the mutated house started to crumble apart.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

And as the screaming intensified, it reached such a loud frequency, it could even be heard in the original reality. Naturally, most of the protosisters found the screaming obnoxious, except for Proto-Luna, who seemed... Delighted.

"This... This is the scream of someone who wishes to repent," the proto-rocker remarked as she got up and clasped her hands. "One of the sinners of the tainted world is pleading for salvation, but her existence is too tainted for Lincoln to truly forgive her."

Then, she narrowed her eyes.

"I know what I need to do."


	23. Post-Victory Loss

**I know what you're saying, "Y U POST DIS ERLIER?!", "Y U NO FOLLO SCHEDLE?!", "Y U MUK ME TLK LIK DIS?!"**

 **Well first of all, please don't think this is how I think you speak.**

 **Second of all, there's a particular scene in the next chapter after this one, that I wanna see how people react to. And since I can't pull the same "post three chapters over a week" nonsense, I'll only post two this week, today, and sunday. And don't worry, once I post the sunday chapter, I'll return to a weekly posting schedule, thank goth.**

 **Anyway, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality...**

 **Lucy's angelic form, Lucyfer supposedly, was awakened and beholded by several people to see her beat up and defeat her counterpart. However, the battle came at a cost, and Haiku wound up greatly injured in the process, to the point Carol had to take her elsewhere.**

 **Not only that, but just as Lucy calmed down, Maggie woke up and gave the team a blank look.**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Vine's Threat Wasn't Empty After All! The Disastrous Loss Following the Victory!**

* * *

From last time, Maggie slowly got up on the ground, a task she found difficult due to only having one usable arm, and promptly dusted herself as Luna and Luan shivered and took a step back. After all, even if the blast that struck her had its impact diminished, she should've been knocked out for at least an hour, if not more. And yet, here she was, dusting herself like it was nothing.

Then Luan noticed Maggie was still missing a hand. "Oh dang, I didn't even noticed she was missing a hand," the comedian remarked in sympathy, earning a look from Luna and Lucy. "I-It doesn't excuse what she's done, of course, but dang."

And as Maggie stood still, looking almost like a corpse that forced itself to stand up, a particularly obnoxious noise was heard in the air for a while: The sound of carnival-like music that belonged more to a horror movie... And the noise was coming from the inside.

And by mere coincidence, the same sound was playing at the Royal Woods school... On Mrs. DiMartino's phone. "I'll never understand why Giggles picked such a grim tone for her cellphone," she remarked as she waited for Giggles to... answer...

"DiMartino, what are you doing?"

The woman turned around and saw none other than Mrs. Shrinivas, Lisa's kindergarten teacher, standing nearby. "I'm trying to call Giggles," the woman hung her phone when she got the "line is unavailable" message. "I've already tried a couple times, but she hasn't even responded."

"I'm sure Gretchen's doing fine," Shrinivas wrapped an arm around DiMartino. "Look, once the school day's over, I'll drive us to come pick her up, okay? For now, let's focus on work."

DiMartino sighed, and turned off her phone as she gave Shrinivas a nod of agreement.

 _Back at Maggie's backyard..._

Maggie eyed Lucy, who flinched back and tried to get on a battle stance, hoping Maggie would buy her bluff. It's not like she could return to her "Lucyfer" form right after she left it, and with most of her energy drained away. Suddenly, Maggie took a couple steps forward, and Lincoln, Luna, and Luan promptly got in front of Lucy and took on battle stances, causing Maggie to stop right on her tracks. However, her blank, deadpan look remained frozen in her face.

"Luna, Luan, Lincoln, let me handle this," Lucy bluntly, but deadpanly, requested.

"You sure about that, sis?" Luna asked, focusing firmly on Maggie. "After all, I think it's clear this little girl is capable of murder."

"This mess started because I didn't even bother to try and talk Maggie and Haiku out of it," Lucy replied. "Now, I have to end this myself."

The trio turned to the goth, and had second thoughts about fulfilling her request. But upon further thought, yeah, maybe it would be good if Lucy fixed this herself. So they went back with the other siblings, and Lincoln and Clyde, and allowed Lucy to step forward and confront Maggie. And though the emo teen gave Lucy a smile, the goth made it rather clear she had nothing but contempt for her.

"Maggie."

"Goth."

Lucy narrowed her eye sockets: First, Maggie made sure to call her by her first name, and now she wouldn't even bother to refer to her by name? But anyhow, this was Lucy's chance, she needed to tell Maggie to scram. Not only out of her poetry, but out of her life.

"Listen up, Maggie, and I want you to listen up well," the goth hissed, catching Maggie's attention. "I'm not going to pick you as a poetry teacher. I'm staying with the person I've been friends with since this fiasco started. I'm staying with Haiku!"

Upon hearing her name, Maggie looked around for any sign of Haiku, and was confused when she failed to see her. Don't worry, though, that confusion would soon be replaced with despair.

"Haiku was greatly injured in my attempt to seal my copycat, and she's currently at the hospital," Lucy explained, maintaining her stern tone. "But the most important thing is that I'm not going to become your student. In fact, I don't want anything to do with you anymore."

Maggie's eyes grew wide, and the mutated house continued to fall apart, leaning closer to the duo, but particularly towards Maggie.

"You're a selfish, pretentious, and crazy jerk who would do anything just to get what you want. In fact, I don't even think you wanted me to become your student to help me legitimately become a good author. I think you wanted me as a student for bragging rights, to brag to whoever would even bother to listen to your nonsense!"

The house continued to fall apart, and though Lincoln could see what would happen and tried to fly there, his sisters stopped him: Hey, he stopped them from helping Lucy earlier, might as well return the favor.

"And after everything that I've gone through, after everything you did or nearly did to me, my friends, and my family, I don't want anything to do with you anymore, nor do I want you to ever try to become my friend, or teacher, or whatever again! So no calls, no songs, no apology letters, not even calling Luan in order to get a chance to call me!"

Then the goth turned to her comedic sister. "You heard me, Luan?!"

"Uh, s-sure, I guess?" the comedian answered.

Then she turned back to Maggie. "And that's that! I want you out of my business, I want you out of my relationships, and I want you out of my life!"

With that last statement, the upper half of the mutated house finally broke apart and fell, subsequently and seemingly crashing on top of Maggie, to the shock of everybody else. However, once the smoke from the crash dispersed, it was revealed the mutated part of the house completely missed Maggie, who looked like she was on the verge of tears as the mutations to her house dissolved into nothing. This left Giggles' corpse in plain view, which Luan quickly gathered... Without any resistance from the emo.

So the emo teen clenched her teeth, took several deep breaths, then raised her arm as Luna, Carol and Lincoln stepped in to protect the surprised goth... And were then caught off-guard when Maggie grabbed and gruesomely ripped off her arm, then threw it to the ground as the damaged limb started to bleed. Then, the emo covered her mouth and looked at everybody, shedding tears like waterfalls and shivering like she had seen a ghost, before she flew off to somewhere far away.

Not that anybody minded, as long as they got rid of Maggie, the better. "Geez, what an edgy jerk." Lucy remarked, with everybody else nodding in agreement. "I can't believe I didn't see how awful she was until now."

"Yeah, speaking of which," Lincoln walked to his goth sister and asked, "Are you sure it was a good idea to go so overboard in your speech to Maggie?"

Lucy, naturally, wasn't pleased with the statement. "Are you getting on Maggie's side?"

"Of course not, but I get the feeling that telling her off like that might not have been such a good idea," the boy folded his arms. "I mean yeah, she tried to force you into choosing between her and Haiku, and once she got empowered she went on a rampage, but _you_ were the one who summoned the one that mutated the house and gave Maggie the power up in the first place."

"Lincoln, there's no need to try and make this look like two shades of grey, it's clearly black and white, and Maggie was mostly at fault!" the literally blind poet stated. "Besides, what's the worst that could happen?"

Soon enough, however, Maggie reached and landed at the top of a hill overlooking the entirety of Royal Woods. So, believing everybody would her her despair, Maggie uncovered her mouth, took a deep breath, then somehow managed to scream at the top of her lungs, releasing a scream so loud it was not only heard through the entirety of Royal Woods, but shook the ground, released sound waves, and broke several glass-ish objects.

"I had a feeling she would start whining and crying about this, but I didn't expect her to do it like this!" Lucy exclaimed as she and everybody covered her eyes.

"What else did you expect after you told her off like you did!" Lincoln groaned. "But even so, dang it, doesn't that girl have any dignity?!"

"I think everything she's done up to this point should establish that no, dignity isn't a luxury she can afford!" Luan added.

The scream could even be heard from the poetry club, which caused everybody to cover their eyes and wince in pain.

"Maggie?!" Sam and Tabby asked in unison, the latter doing so with worry, while the former did so in exasperation.

And as the screaming intensified, it reached such a loud frequency, it could even be heard in the original reality. Naturally, most of the protosisters found the screaming obnoxious, except for Proto-Luna, who seemed... Delighted.

"This... This is the scream of someone who wishes to repent," the proto-rocker remarked as she got up and clasped her hands. "One of the sinners of the tainted world is pleading for salvation, but her existence is too tainted for Lincoln to truly forgive her."

Then, she narrowed her eyes.

"I know what I need to do."

The prototype aimed her right palm at the void that was the original reality, and with an L-symbol appearing on her palm, she shot a purple energy blast, which blew up into a purple portal that lead her right in front of the screaming emo teen. So, once Maggie stopped screaming and caught her breath, Proto-Luna took the chance to enter the new reality and greet the emo.

"Greetings," she said as Maggie hit the ground and backed away. "I heard your call for salvation. Your plead to purge you from sin."

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Maggie tried to shout, but her voice wasn't healthy enough to let her go louder than a squeak. No surprise, given the volume of her latest tantrum. "I was just screaming because today's been the worst day of my life! And it's all Lucy Loud's fault!"

That statement caught the prototype's attention, who listened as the emo continued:

"I lost a chance to get a student, my house was mutated into some monstrosity, I feel sick in my stomach, and once mom comes back, she's definitely going to ground me even though I did nothing wrong! Yes, I did manage to get rid of one of the comedians who were messing with my day, but that ultimately means nothing."

The emo got on her knees and started to cry.

"In the end, this is the worst day of my life. And It's all _that goth's_ fault!" Maggie pulled her hair. "She isn't any better than the rest of her family!"

"Oh?" Proto-Luna scratched her chin. "Perhaps, you could elaborate on what you mean?"

Maggie shot a glare at the prototype before snarling as she paced back and forth. "The Louds are nothing more than irritating, childish jerks! They look nice on the surface, and they might even be decent people on a good day, but the instant something doesn't go their way, or something bad happens 'cause of them, they blame other people instead of accepting their fault, or even worse, sabotage things so they get whatever they want!"

Proto-Luna found herself more and more interested as Maggie continued to speak. Perhaps, she thought, all Maggie needed... Was the lord Lincoln's guidance?

"First, the musician takes Mick Swagger away from me! Then, the comedian grinds my gears and humiliates me with her pranks and her tries to befriend me! And now, the goth essentially told me to piss off without giving me a chance to explain myself! I bet she even summoned her demon counterpart or something just to spite me!"

" _Sad thing is, the real story's far more pathetic than that,_ " Proto-Luna thought.

Just as she started to whimper, though, Proto-Luna to put her hand on her shoulder, and with her other hand she wiped her tears off her cheeks. She then leaned closer to the emo, and sporting a reassuring a look belonging to a mother, she said:

"So you were wronged by one of the tainted replicas too. I can relate to that. But you don't have to deal with this pain alone. Nobody has to."

She then kissed Maggie's forehead, and she was surrounded by a purple-and orange-aura that soon surrounded her injured arm, which was healed into a stub before vanishing from existence. She didn't regain her arm, but at least she was no longer bleeding.

"And so, I offer you my assistance in making Lucy pay for all she's done to you."

The proto-rocker offered her hand to the emo, who soon put on a relieved smile.

"After all, for every loss, a victory shall follow."

The duo promptly shook hands.

"And for every victory, a loss shall follow."

Soon afterwards, Proto-Luna pulled Maggie into a hug and kissed her, right on the lips. Before she could wonder why that happened, however, Maggie felt an intense, rapid surge in power as Proto-Luna separated from her and backed away to let her enjoy her new power, followed by her briefly getting a horrified look as her eyes almost immediately glowed purple, and she gained a sadistic smirk.

So of course, the first thing she did was create a small sphere, pulsating and contorting with what seemed like a crying, screaming face inside of it. Then, with a little help from Proto Luna, the emo flew as fast as she could to the poetry club, while the prototype rocker put a pair of fingers on her forehead and spoke to the biker girls:

" _Pravuil, you and your fellow Lincolnists need to leave the poetry club right now._ "

And of course, the biker leader answered back, " _But why, High Sister?_ "

" _Let's just say, a purging is going to happen, and if you don't leave, you'll suffer the same fate as the sinners. Head to the church, and pray things end soon. Tomorrow, we'll have something to discuss._ "

" _Alright, got it high sister._ "

And so, with her message sent, she took a look from afar and saw the biker girls and Silas leaving and running as far away from the poetry club as possible. With that relieving sight, Proto-Line went back into the portal and left the dimension.

And as Maggie flew over there, she was spotted by the team.

"Wait, is that Maggie? Where is she going?" Luna remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Who cares?! We have to follow her and make her pay for what she did!" Luan exclaimed, her yellow aura returning in an instant.

Luna, Lincoln, and the twins followed soon afterwards, with Clyde hitching a ride with the twin, who left him a couple streets away from the poetry club. The Louds, however, weren't able to reach Maggie before she got high above the club. Once there, she stopped right on her tracks and wasted no time in somehow charging her sphere

By the time the Louds could get close to the emo, however, the face inside the sphere somehow let out a shriek so intense, it drove the siblings far away, though it only did it once. Not that it mattered, since the energy sphere had reached a size that would decimate the poetry club, and it still grew by the hand of Maggie.

"W-What is going on?! I thought she only had the ability to fly and use energy or whatever while she was empowered by my counterpart!" Lucy remarked, sounding legitimately worried. "But she took back the thing that empowered her, so how is she capable of creating and amplifying this thing to be even stronger?!"

A quick look Luna did to Maggie's aura, which was now surrounded by a purple one, gave her an answer.

"She's being empowered by someone else!" Luna exclaimed, taking a step back as the massive energy ball grew bigger and bigger. "It's the same situation as when Luan and I were fighting her! But who could be empowering her this time?!"

And as the team pondered that, Maggie had her own thoughts about the situation, she didn't sound happy:

" _W-Why did that Luna copycat kiss me? What is this painful power she gave me? W-Why can't I move myself?! Why can't I control myself?! What did she do to me?! What... What will happen to Tabby?!_ "

Regardless of whether anybody would realize the truth at this point, Maggie's maniacal laughter as the massive energy sphere finished growing and pulsated, with electricity flowing around it, made it clear they had no time to waste. So Lucy promptly flew towards Maggie and caught her attention, and needless to say, the contempt that was once exclusive to Lucy was now mutual between the two.

"Maggie, just what do you think you're doing?!" Lucy growled.

"I'm going to make you pay for ruining my chances of being a teacher! Of passing on my knowledge of poetry! Of once again ruining my hopes for a better future!" the teenager answered in a melodramatic tone that even Lola would find overkill. And she did. "And I will do that by destroying the poetry club you love so much, using my own concentrated agony!"

Then, she yelled at the top of her lungs:

"The Angsty Sphere of Despair!"

Amongst the gasps of shock and disgust, Luan could be heard shouting, "Ow the edge!"

"Maggie, Stop!" Lucy pleaded as the emo teenager got ready to throw her energy ball at the club. "Listen, I know you're upset about me picking Haiku over you, but that doesn't mean you should do this! Don't you care about all the innocent people you'll be killing in the process?!"

"You should've thought about that from the instant I both gained my powers from your impostor, and decided to do everything I could to gain you as my student!" Maggie spat back. "Not to mention how you followed the exact same footsteps your older sister did, ruining both my hope and motivation for poetry!"

Then she giggled as everybody, minus Luna, raised an eyebrow and backed away. Suddenly, Maggie turned to Luna, and spoke the bombshell:

"Isn't that right, Luna?"

Everybody's eyes turned to look at Luna as the teenager's eyes grew wide in shock, and she backed away before she outright hit the ground.

"That's right, baby girl, I never forgot," the emo added, narrowing her eyes. "And now, to make both of you pay, have something of great value to one of you, be destroyed by the angst you yourself caused!"

The emo teen threw the massive ball of concentrated angst at the club, with Lucy, and eventually Luna and Luan, narrowly flying towards the sphere and stopping it with their bare hands. Naturally, Maggie refused to let them win and pushed the ball further with her single arm for a while.

However, it wasn't long before a purple portal opened behind her, and a shadowy figure came out. And with a single strike to the neck, the figure knocked out Maggie and promptly grabbed her as Lincoln and the twins promptly joined their sisters in pushing back the massive sphere.

During their attempt to push back the thing, everybody managed to catch a glimpse of the figure holding the unconscious, and it wasn't long before Luna and Lincoln recognized them, soon followed by the figure revealing themselves to be Proto Luna, eyeing the team with a stern look.

"Other Luna?!" the boy and the rocker exclaimed in unison.

"My lord, I'm one of your most faithful servants, and I would never want to betray or corrupt your words and statements to appease my own selfish desires," the prototype rocker remarked, before narrowing her eyes and adopting a far harsher tone. "But even then, I have to question, why are you sabotaging your own mission?"

"W-What mission?!" the boy exclaimed, with the shock from the event briefly causing him to lose focus on the massive sphere of angst basically all of the Louds were trying to push back. "I don't remember anything about a mission!"

"You're preventing her concetration of angst from eliminating the sinners inside the club, my lord," the prototype rocker answered, biting her lip and holding back tears as she continued. "Isn't that why you imprisoned us? Why you took those copycats as your new sisters and... Other stuff? Why you made a new reality from scratch? Because we were soiled by sin?"

"What are you talking about?!" Lincoln exclaimed. Rather understandable, given the situation. "I have no idea what all of this has to do with that mission, nor do I know if I ever said that was my mission! The only mission I know of right now is prevent this thing from destroying Lucy's favorite hanging spot!"

"Are you going to help us or not?!" Luna abruptly asked.

The rocker's counterpart looked at the Louds with slight contempt, yet also confusion. Particularly Lincoln. But after she thought about it for a moment, the rocker smiled and her answer sounded... Honest:

"Sure, I'll help you."

The Louds smiled and calmed down, though not to the point they would just up and drop the angsty sphere of despair. Looks like visiting her in the original reality did work after all!

...Or not, for the rocker reached for her back and took out an earring. More specifically, it was a golden earring with a small, orange crystal ball attached to it. She promptly put it on her left ear, and Luna could tell that not only did her counterpart grow stronger, but her aura was mixed with one that felt like... Lincoln's.

"I'm going to help you accomplish your holy mission, and purge this corrupted universe from the sinful masses!" the proto-rocker aimed her finger at the sphere like a gun, and charged a purple energy ball... With orange electricity. "Let's see how you push back that thing when it's been blessed by the lord and savior's power!"

The energy all was shot, and upon collision with the angsty sphere of despair, the ball didn't grow any bigger, but it turned from dark grey to orange with tangerine electricity. Not only that, but while Lincoln could still hold the sphere just fine, everybody else slowly felt their hands burn up from merely touching the sphere.

"Ouch! It burns!" Lola whined as she and Lana released the sphere and went back to douse the flames.

"It's official, when I grow up, I'll try to be hotter than this thing!" Luan joked before following the twins, though she chuckled and said "Get it?" before doing so.

Lucy, Luna, and Lincoln, however, stood behind and held the sphere ball back, even when the goth and rocker could feel their hands burning up to the sphere's intense heat.

"Lincoln, I don't think we'll be able to hold this thing for much longer!" Luna exclaimed, holding back her tears. "Can you hold this back on your own?"

The boy eyed both of his remaining sisters, who were crying their hearts out, yet trying their hardest to push back the massive energy ball. And yet, Lincoln knew deep down that there was no way his sisters could keep touching the energy ball for long, nor could he push the thing back on his own.

"Luna! Lucy!" he exclaimed, before lowering his head, and then his arms. "We have to retreat!"

Though they wanted to complain, Luna and Lucy, presumably from the heat, collapsed unconscious and Lincoln promptly grabbed both of them and teleported back with Luan and the twins. With nothing preventing the sphere's collision, Proto Luna gave the sphere one final push before she and Maggie went through the portal, which closed itself out of existence as the massive energy sphere got closer and closer to the poetry club.

The Louds began to panic as the only thing they could do right now was watch... That is, until a familiar face reappeared: This being Carol Pingrey.

"Hi guys, sorry for taking so long, I had to help set up Haiku to a life-support machine and-" then she looked at the angsty sphere of despair. "What is that?!"

"That doesn't matter! Y-You can teleport, right?!" Clyde exclaimed, earning a nod from the teenager. "Teleport into the poetry club and save whoever you can!"

Surprisingly, Lana was quick to complain. "You can't just boss Carol around like it was no big deal!"

"This is no time for proper etiquette, Lana, people are going to die if we do nothing!" Clyde argued in return. "And since this Carol you're talking about can teleport, then she could actually use that to our advantage-!"

Carol soon grew tired of the bickering between the pair and immediately teleported into the interior of the poetry club, just in time to watch the angsty sphere of despair tear away the ceiling of the club, showering the panicking club visitors in an intense, grey light. Amongst these panicked people were Sam, Tabby, and Polly, hugging together and waiting the inevitable.

"Come with me if you want to live!" Carol exclaimed as she extended her arm towards Tabby and Polly. Then she turned to Sam, "And you, hop in too, I guess."

"But what about everybody else?!" Polly exclaimed, pointing at the panicking children.

"Yeah, if we leave, they're going to be killed by that massive... Thing!" Tabby added, with Polly nodding in agreement. "There has to be a way we can get them out of here too!"

"Listen up, there's nothing you can do to save them, nor stop that thing from destroying this place!" the teenager offered her hand once more. "Now shut up and grab my hand unless you want to die in flames with these kids!"

Seeing the teen girl was right, Polly promptly grabbed Carol's hand, and Tabby grabbed Polly's hand, while Sam also grabbed the arm Tabby grabbed. And as Carol prepared to teleport themselves away, the pair gave their audience one final, longing look before the quartet were teleported back with the ground.

Just in time to watch the club be engulfed by the sphere of despair, causing a massive explosion shortly afterwards. A massive explosion that not only caused the ground to shake violently, but be felt all across the city of Royal Woods: The Santiago household, the Loud household, the school, the quake was felt everywhere.

Luckily, it wasn't long before the shaking stopped altogether, allowing everybody a chance to breath.

"Is everybody okay?" Lincoln asked as he took a look at his surroundings.

From what he could see, everybody really was fine: Luna and Luan had a couple bruises, and the twins and Clyde dusted themselves, but outside of that, everything seemed okay...

And then he saw Lucy, who was on her knees and looking at the aftermath of the explosion: A grey mushroom cloud enveloped the place that used to be the poetry club, and flames surrounding said cloud as dozens of people gathered around it, including the news crew from before.

Lincoln put a comforting hand on his sister's shoulder. "Lucy, I-"

And then she got up and suddenly ran towards the scene, with her siblings following after her. She mostly ignored the news reporter talking about the scene and just focused on the scorched remains of the club, or at least what she could see besides the cops blocking the area. Amongst the ruined furniture were burning corpses, some screaming, some crying, but all of them were definitely childlike.

"Lucy, I-" Carol blurted, trying to comfort the goth in sympathy.

Unfortunately, the gothic girl promptly grabbed Carol by her skirt, pulled her forward and cried, "What happened to Haiku?! Where did you take her?! Is she okay?!"

"R-Relax, she's okay!" the teenager answered. "She's at the Royal Woods hospital: She's hooked to a life-support machine, but she's stable so far-"

Then Lincoln requested, "Can you take us there?"

Between the request and Lucy's obviously worried-sick reaction to the idea Haiku wasn't really as okay as she said she was, Carol nodded, and everybody clung to her... Except for Sam, Tabby, and Polly, who continued to look.

"Um, girls, would you like to come with us, and check up on Haiku?" Carol inquired.

While she did manage to get the trio's attention, it wasn't long before Tabby and Polly returned to looking at the remains of the club. "No, we... We need to go somewhere else," Polly answered. "I know a place we can go to relax for a bit. We... We'll see her later... Maybe..."

Carol nodded, and she teleported straight to the hospital while the trio went to.

 _Back at the Santiago household..._

Lori, Leni, Bobby, and Ronnie got up and stabilized themselves. Ronnie and Lori did it with little problem, but Leni tried to hold her cries as Bobby soon realized he was leaning against her cast.

"S-Sorry, Leni, I-I didn't want to hurt you!" the guy said as he and the injured fashionista both got up, with Leni catching her breath as Bobby further explained. "You and Ronnie were close to me, then the earthquake happened and-"

Leni shut him up with a couple, pained words:

"I-It's okay... I'm fine..."

Then she turned to Lori.

"L-Lori, we need to go... Do something else."

The young adult was confused at the statement: Leni was the one who brought them to the Santiago household, and now she wanted to leave? But when Leni opened her eyes and revealed they had light blue sclera, Lori nodded, silently bid farewell and left the house... While Ronnie narrowed her eyes, having caught a glimpse of Leni's eyes.

Once the duo were outside and far away from the house, Lori placed her sister on a bench and hissed:

"What do you want, Proto-Me?! First Leni gets her arm injured, then you control her to take us to a bunch of places, and now we have to discuss something-"

"Quiet." Leni responded, with a voice similar to Lori's.

The young woman promptly shut up and narrowed her eyes as "Leni" promptly explained herself:

"The gothic poet who helped Lucyfer seal Vine once more... I could sense she could be a massive problem in the near future, if she was allowed to live any longer. She seems to be Lucyfer's crutch: If she goes, then Lucyfer will crumble apart and either be consumed by despair, or rage... I think you know where I'm going with his..."

Lori gasped and took a step back as "Leni" smiled, seeing the teenager knew what she was talking about. Haiku, while physically not much of a threat, could still end up becoming trouble if she was allowed to heal, specially seeing how Lucy was rather close to her. And so...

She had to die.

"All I'm asking of you is to take Leni to the hospital, and if she refuses, I'll just force her to do so anyway," "Leni" further explained, flashing a smug smirk. "Will you do that for me... Sister?"

Suddenly, Lori felt an intense headache and grabbed her head, writhing in pain as she felt somebody taking over... And once the pain was gone, "Lori" opened her eyes, revealing they had seafoam green sclera, and said:

"Consider it done."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Haiku just weakly giggled at the question. Well, at least she got to laugh one last time. "She's eight. What kind of eight year old would be a genuine goth? No, she's just acting like that to fit in with the poet crowd, but she herself isn't like that. And that's why I have to ask you to convince her to show her true feelings, her true emotions, and stop wearing a dumb mask just to fit in with people. 'Cause I don't think I'll get to live long enough to do that myself."

Oh, how sadly true that would soon become.

"Well, I have another question for you," Leni blurted, returning Haiku back to earth. "Bad people do bad things, and good people do good things, that's how it works, like? But... What would you consider a good person... Who does bad things?"


	24. Hospitality

**Okay, slight change of plans: I'm posting this chapter Saturday, and tomorrow comes another chapter before returning to a weekly schedule. Why do I do this? 'Cause the chapter after this one has a lot of information about... Well, lots of things, so I figured it would be best to just get on with it and give you some answers and questions. Hopefully more of the former than the latter, though.**

 **Anyway, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality!**

 **After Maggie woke up from her unconscious coma, Lucy delivered a brutal speech to her to state she would keep studying poetry under Haiku. In retaliation, Maggie screamed at the heavens, until she was heard by the hell itself that was the original reality, and Luna's counterpart, Prototype Luna.**

 **She then came to the new reality and gave Maggie the power to destroy Lucy and Haiku's favorite poetry club, alongside her free will apparently, judging by her despairing thoughts as she used her "Edgy Sphere of Despair"-Ow the edge!-to destroy the club, killing dozens of innocent people, except the biker and Silas-who left-and Polly, Sam, and Tabby, who were saved at the last moment by Carol.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: Poetic Hospitality! Is Haiku Gonna be Okay?!**

* * *

 _Outside the Royal Woods hospital..._

Lori and Leni teleported and floated in the air as they scanned the interior of the building through the windows. For the most part, all they could see were people either going through surgeries, in critical state, and so on. The sights did make them feel slightly sorry for them, but they were too focused on finding Haiku to really give the people more than a second thought.

Luckily, they soon managed to find her on the penultimate floor before reaching the top of the hospital. Haiku was basically bedridden, with a large bandage covering the spot right where her belly used to be, and a life support machine stood nearby, ready to be used when-not if, but when-the girl would eventually need it.

"Well, there she is," "Leni" remarked, right before she and "Lori" left their 'hosts' bodies and spoke to them as voices. " _Now all you need to do is find the right time to strike, then get rid of her once and for all._ "

"I don't want to sound like I'll enjoy watching my younger sister murder someone," Lori remarked, scratching her head. "But why do we have to wait? Why not just strike now and get it over with?"

"Lori!" Leni hissed, her anger evident in her tone.

"While we would absolutely adore if you could get rid of her right now, there's the matter that she's still being treated as we speak, so there are witnesses nearby," "Lori" answered, her eyes gaining a seafoam green sclera once more. "Besides, if we do end up killing her right now, either a doctor or a camera will bust us out, so we need to wait until the cameras can be disabled and all the doctors taking care of her have left before we can kill her. Besides..."

Suddenly, the sounds of someone teleporting were heard.

"The lord and company have arrived."

And so, Leni and Lori hid inside a nearby tree, where they saw from outside Lincoln, his sisters, Clyde and Carol approach the bedridden Haiku.

"Haiku!" Lucy ran to the bedridden girl and grabbed her hand as she slowly turned to look at the goth. "Are you okay?! How do you feel?!"

The girl put on a smile and said, "The doctor said that, just to be safe, I'll be put in life support in a couple minutes," then she asked, "How are you feeling, Lucy?"

Lucy promptly threw her free arm up. "Who cares how I feel?!"

Haiku just giggled. "I just asked, didn't I?"

Everybody else-minus Lincoln, who raised an eyebrow-went "oooh" while Lucy flinched and blushed. She then turned to her siblings, who gestured her to make most of what little time they would have together. So the goth took a deep breath, and spoke:

"So... Pardon the personal question, but I don't think I'll ever have another chance to ask."

Lucy glanced at her companions, then leaned closer to Haiku's ear and whispered:

"What's your real name?"

Haiku just giggled, then Lucy leaned her ear closer to Haiku's mouth and she said:

"Heloise."

Lucy blushed, then giving Haiku a warm smile, she responded:

"That's a beautiful name."

But then, someone just had to be a buzzkill:

"Lucy, I think it's time we go back home," Lincoln told the goth, who flinched as her heart skipped a beat. "After all this emotion and action and stuff, I think some rest would be good for everyone-"

Predictably, Lucy wasn't okay with the idea.

"L-L-Lincoln, I can't just leave her alone! What if something happens to He-I mean, Haiku, when I'm away?!" the goth's face turned blue as she thought of the possibilities. "The machine could malfunction, the doctors could mess up an operation, some sort of demon could come up and use her as a ritual sacrifice-!"

"Stop worrying so much, Lucy."

The goth shut up and turned around to see Haiku giving her a weak, pained smile.

"Listen, just because I'm bedridden and will soon need life support doesn't mean it's the end of your world: Lincoln has a point, you, and everybody else, need to rest after everything that's happened today, so go back home and we'll meet again tomorrow, visitor's hour."

Lucy began crying. "Haiku..."

"And remember, all I want is for you to be happy," the Gothic poet added. "So stop with all the gloom and doom and smile for once, got it?"

The goth wiped off her tears, then forced a smile as she answered:

"I'll try, Haiku... I'll try."

And so, Lucy joined her siblings and Clyde. "Hey... Lady that looks like Lori?" Lucy blurted, catching Carol's attention, though it was clear she was a bit offended at the remark. "If you're going to teleport us or whatever you did, could you take us back to our home? There's something I need to show you: What I used to summon my counterpart."

Naturally, Lincoln was the first to question the idea. "Lucy, I know you feel bad about the whole thing, but-"

"It's the least I can do, Lincoln!" the goth replied. "And besides, if I do show you what I did, then you'll know what not to do in order to make sure nothing like this happens again."

Seeing logic behind Lucy's request, Carol and Lincoln exchanged nods and the teenager teleported the team-and Clyde-out of the hospital and back to the Loud house. Then, when the doctor's left not too long afterwards to do something, this gave Lori and Leni the perfect chance to enter: Which basically consisted of Leni looking at the crippled girl as she slowly flew to the window.

Lori? She remained behind and watched how this would play out.

"D-Do I really have to do this?" Leni meekly asked, knowing she was probably inciting Proto-Lori's rage with the inquiry. "Does Haiku really need to die? I mean, she's on life support. Maybe-"

Suddenly, she felt a great pain all over her body that brought her to her knees. In the middle of the air. As the pain intensified, Proto-Lori spoke:

"We've been stuck in this hell for over three years, completely immobilized and unable to interact with the outside world outside of using you as hosts! We've suffered long enough, and now that we have a chance to be free, we won't falter, nor have second thoughts!"

Shedding tears, Leni said, "But-"

"But nothing! You will help us be freed on your own, or be forced to do it!"

And then, Proto-Lori appeared right in front of Leni, forced her to open her eyes and look at her furious glare.

"I won't allow other choices. So, will you do it willingly... Or by force?"

Seeing she had no other choice, and feeling her will slowly inching away, Leni gave her in agonizing pain:

"I'll do it!"

The pain vanished and the teenager caught her breath as Proto-Lori smirked, then vanished into thin air. With that done, Leni got up, dusted herself, then tried to calm down before going forth to the hospital room where Haiku was. After all, even if she did agree to do it, there was still some doubt in her mind. What, exactly, did her and Lori's counterparts see in Haiku that made her such a big threat? Yes, she was important to Lucy, or Lucyfer if you will, but that couldn't be it.

But anyhow, Leni promptly flew to the window, opened it and entered the room of the crippled poet. Needless to say, she was rather surprised, scared even, when she saw the teenager.

"Who are you?" Haiku asked with concern.

The fashionista choked at the question, specially because of the girl's evident distress and fear of her. But nevertheless, Leni took a deep breath and answered, with a friendly tone:

"I'm Leni, Lucy's older sister. Well, one of them, anyway."

"Oh, Lucy's mentioned you before," the injured poet turned to the ceiling, where she saw an image of Lucy smiling at her. Of course, Leni saw nothing. "She said something about you being one of the sisters she really wishes she got to know better. She feels as if you and her don't really hang out enough to get an opinion of you, and to be honest, that kinda upsets me."

Leni frowned. "How would that upset you? We just met."

Haiku shook her head. "Leni, it would be too long if I told you the whole story, but the truth is, I just want Lucy to quit the gloom act and be happy, or at least show her true feelings more often."

Then, she turned to the fashionista, and gave her a hopeful look. "And you seem like you could actually get her to open up. She says you can be quite emotional, but also inviting and kind, and so, I figured you could, I don't know, convince her that there's nothing wrong with showing how she really feels."

"Wait, gloom and doom act?" Leni soon realized what that implied. "Are you telling me... Lucy's just acting like she's a gloom and doom kind of goth?"

Haiku just weakly giggled at the question. Well, at least she got to laugh one last time. "She's eight. What kind of eight year old would be a genuine goth? No, she's just acting like that to fit in with the poet crowd, but she herself isn't like that. And that's why I have to ask you to convince her to show her true feelings, her true emotions, and stop wearing a dumb mask just to fit in with people. 'Cause I don't think I'll get to live long enough to do that myself."

Oh, how sadly true that would soon become.

"Well, I have another question for you," Leni blurted, returning Haiku back to earth. "Bad people do bad things, and good people do good things, that's how it works, like? But... What would you consider a good person... Who does bad things?"

The poet fell silent. Leni did state the obvious with the first two, but the third one... She was conflicted: On the one hand, there could be good people who did bad things, and she saw them with pity or disgust, depending on what they did. On the other hand, it all depended on will: Were they doing it on their own? Were they doing it on someone's behalf? Were they being forced to do the things they did? And so she asked back:

"Is the person doing it willingly?"

Haiku turned and saw Leni checking out the machine showcasing her heartbeat. She just stared at it, before answering:

"No, they have no say at all. They do it willingly, or forcibly."

"Well, I'd feel pity for them, then," Haiku spoke as Leni slowly walked to the plug powering the life-support machine... Then reached for it, her arm shivering violently. "I mean, it's bad if you're a good person doing terrible things, but doing them without even having a say in the matter is just... It's so sa-"

Suddenly, Haiku found it hard to breath. And once she turned around, she saw why: Leni had unplugged the machine and was holding the cable as she cried waterfalls, while giving Haiku a sorrowful look with a broken smile.

"I'm sorry..." she weakly said. "But I have no choice."

Suddenly, next to her appeared a light blue shadowy figure, chuckling to herself as Leni continued to cry, and Haiku continued to try to breath. However, just as Haiku started to cry herself, Leni went to her side and grabbed her hand, where the poet saw a black ring on her index finger.

"I couldn't stop myself from killing you the slow, painful way, but at the very least, I can help you die a peaceful death," the teenager said, before closing Haiku's eyes. "Close your eyes, and think of something nice. Anything will do."

Though Haiku couldn't trust Leni at this point, she was a dead girl anyway, so if what Leni said did help her die a peaceful death, then she might as well try it. So she started to think about something that would always cheer her up: Lucy's own happiness. And almost as soon as she thought that, an image of Lucy appeared above her.

"L-Lucy?"

"Yes, Haiku, it's me." the goth turned away and cried. "Listen, I'm sorry about everything. The death of Giggles, your own death, the damage done to Clyde, if only I had never summoned that accursed copycat of me, none of this would've happened!"

"Lucy, please, don't blame yourself," Haiku reached for Lucy's hand, which she grabbed and held tightly. "You couldn't have known this would happen. You couldn't have known anything like this would've happen. Listen, a lot of bad stuff happened, but in the end, I'm just happy you sealed or whatever that impostor of yours away. That you fixed everything. That you survived."

"Haiku..." "Lucy" tightened her hold. "Can you at least tell me your dying wish?"

Haiku chuckled, and feeling the life slowly going away from her, she figured, meh, why not?

"I want you to be happy. To quit the gothic act, and act like the amazing girl you really are, Lucy. But most of all..."

Then with her final breath, she finished:

"I want you... To learn and grow... From your mistakes..."

Finally, Haiku closed her eyes and perished with a smile on her face, as in the real world Leni-now looking like a teenage version of Lucy-promptly released her hand and returned to normal before covering Haiku's corpse.

"I'll make sure your wish gets fulfilled, Haiku," the fashionista promised. "Even if Lucy has to kill me to make that happen."

With the deed done, Leni shot the camera and then reunited with Lori outside, right before the duo teleported away.

 _Meanwhile, back at the Loud house..._

Carol and the rest of the team arrived at the living room... Just as Lynn resumed her dancing in her underwear. She stopped the instant she noticed everybody had arrived, and Clyde particularly looked at her.

"Why don't you guys knock or let me know when you're arriving or something?!" Lynn growled, before blushing and turning to Clyde. "And what are you looking at?!"

"You got some good thighs," the boy answered with a shrug.

A single glare from Lynn convinced Clyde to leave the house and go back home. "Okay, listen, I kinda teleported us here, so there wasn't really any time to tell you we were coming," Carol promptly explained. "Besides, don't worry, we'll keep what you did in here a secret between us."

"That, and we have no time to waste with you and... Whatever you were doing," Lucy sternly stated before turning to her siblings. Oh, and Carol too. "Everybody, come with me to the attic. I'll show you how the whole mess started-"

"I'm coming along!" Lynn proclaimed, putting her hands on her hips.

Lucy was once more in her rejection. "Lynn, I'm not in the mood to deal with your presence. I've been through quite a nightmarish experience today, and the last thing I need is for you to be around to further anger me."

"And do you think I haven't been through stuff myself?" the athlete stomped the ground. "Being left all alone in the house gets boring after a while! Come on, let me come with you!"

"Lynn, listen, we had a... Very rough day today," Lincoln argued, earning a pouty face from the jock. "And some of us are feeling very downbeat, so, how about you stay here while we go to the attic?"

"But I wanna come with you!" Lynn got on the floor and threw a tantrum. "I wanna! I wanna! I wanna!"

And as Lynn's tantrum continued, most of the team were surprised at her reaction, except Lucy, who was outright embarrassed, Lincoln, who was disappointed, Carol, who couldn't believe what she was seeing, and Lola, who... Took notes.

"If I let you come, do you promise to not be annoying!?" Lucy growled, and Lynn nodded in excitement as she got up and dusted herself. "And to think you're my older sister. Whatever, let's move on!"

 _Later, at the attic..._

The team, and Lynn and Carol, sat down and listened while Lucy showed them the demonic book she used, particularly the ritual she did. "I found this page concerning my counterpart, so I gathered some items, I drew the shape and everything, but by the time I managed to summon her, she only told me I missed a crucial detail," the goth explained as everybody looked concerned, with Carol looking explicitly at the book. "And the worst part of it is, she didn't even tell me what I did wrong! She just yanked my eyes out, vanished, and... Well, I'd rather not repeat myself just to let one person know the nightmare I went through."

Then Lynn got up and walked to her gothic sibling. "So, let me get this straight: You found a book, apparently concerning counterparts of ours, who we can summon to our whim as long as we do the procedure correctly, and they will serve us like servants, without ifs or buts?"

Lucy didn't pull any punches: "Yes."

And then Lynn grabbed the book from Lucy's hands and surfed through the pages. "And you didn't even tell us anything about it?! Are you crazy?! This is perfect! All we need to do is figure how to summon each of our counterparts, and how to do it properly of course, and all of our problems will be fixed! Just let me find my counterpart's page and-"

"Lynn Copernicus Loud, I won't let you use this book, and it's rituals, to accomplish your own selfish goals!" Lucy hissed threateningly before snatching the book away from Lynn's grasp. "Specially after what happened!"

"First of all, my second name isn't Copernicus, I don't even think that's a real surname, or name for that matter," the athlete replied, narrowing her eyes. "Second of all, we have a book that can help us deal with our impostors, and instead of using it to our advantage, you want us to try ignore it? Are you kidding me?!"

Lincoln soon got in the middle of the argument, while everybody else stood back and couldn't help but feel things would get worse.

"Lynn, I know you probably think using the book to summon the copycats to do our bidding is a good idea," the boy said, earning a glare from the athlete. "But you have to understand-"

Lynn promptly pushed him away. "The only thing I understand right now is that Lucy's too much of a selfish brat to let us use this book! I mean, we have the means of controlling those abominations claiming to be us! The stupid thing would be to not try and summon one of them at least once-"

"I tried it once," Lucy stated bitterly, tightening her hold of the book. "I failed to do the summoning properly, and I wasn't the only one to pay the prize. Haiku, Luan's friend, several people got hurt, and even died, because of what I did!"

"Just because you failed to summon one properly doesn't mean it will happen again," the jock argued, filling Lucy's anger even more. "And if necessary, we can just use a guinea pig, or maybe even Lincoln-"

That was the last straw.

"Don't you dare drag Lincoln into this mess!"

Suddenly, Lucy started smacking Lynn repeatedly with the book, while the athlete tried to fight back with some punches and kicks. However, luckily enough, Carol and Lincoln grabbed the pair before the fight got any more violent.

"Guys, fighting each other won't solve anything!" Lincoln exclaimed as he tried to hold back Lucy.

Meanwhile, Carol turned Lynn to look at her. "And you, listen up! You may have missed the news report or whatever excuse you wanna use, but everybody just went through a nightmare thanks to what Lucy did! She feels horrible for it, because a lot of people she cared about paid for it!"

Lynn just narrowed and rolled her eyes.

"If we tried summoning another one of the copycats this soon after that mess, we could all end up paying for it, or worse, dying in the process! So give us at least a couple weeks before we try it again, for everyone's sake, okay?!"

The athlete quickly freed herself from Carol's grasp, but realizing she was both cornered and that she was no match for the teenager at all, she rolled her eyes and ran back upstairs.

"Geez, if this is how she's acting after I left her alone for a couple hours, then I should probably keep an eye out for her," Luna remarked, narrowing her eyes.

Lucy promptly freed herself from Luan's grasp, eyed the book that caused her so much trouble, then threw it into a pile of boxes before she ran out of the attic. "It looks like she needs someone to talk to," Lincoln remarked, giving Luan an idea. "Maybe-"

"Hey, Lincoln, sorry to interrupt, but do you think I could go talk to her for a moment?" the comedian requested. "Let me give the whole "pep talk" thing a shot?"

"Well, I guess it would be better if Lucy spoke with the one who came with her..." Lincoln nodded. "Sure, Luan, give it a shot. Just don't try to humor her with your puns."

Luan was rather unimpressed with the statement. "Thanks for the advice, Lincoln, I wouldn't have been able to figure that out on my own."

The prankster rolled her eyes, then promptly left the attic before everybody else did the same, with Carol giving Lincoln a thumbs up before she teleported back home.

 _Meanwhile, downstairs..._

Lucy sat on the couch, arms folded across her chest while she watched... Something related to Blarney the Dinosaur. She continued to watch even after Luan arrived and sat next to her.

"Lucy, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you watching Blarney the Dinosaur?" the comedian inquired, pointing at the screen. "I'd expect the twins to watch it, not you."

"This show is famous for, alongside other things, having an easy time cheering up even the most downbeat of adults," the goth sternly explained. "It may be a stupid show for stupid kids like Lola, but at the very least it can cheer me up a little." the goth looked at the ground. "And I really need to be cheered up right now."

Luan choked and took a deep breath: At his point, she would either make some jokes herself, or invite Giggles to cheer everybody up. However, the fact Luan was just as upset as Lucy, couple with Giggles unfortunate fate, made those two choices rather... Impractical.

"So, do you really think Lynn's idea isn't a good one?" Luan inquired, causing her sister to flinch. "I mean-"

"You saw what my counterpart did: She got Haiku hurt, she got your friend killed, she took away my eyes, all she ever did was give me trouble, and yet Lynn thinks she can just summon her own counterpart like it was nothing, despite the danger! I just can't have something like what happened today, or something even worse, happen so soon after we just left that nightmare!"

Lucy grabbed a pillow, then aimed it right for a picture of a younger Lynn.

"She basically wants to try and bring us even more pain, and she doesn't even care enough to figure that out before she tries to use the book! She would make everybody suffer through the nightmare we just went through just for a slim chance to use her counterpart for her own bidding!"

The goth threw the pillow at the picture, and as the glass shattered into pieces, what she blurted next sent a chill up Luan's spine:

"She's just like Maggie!"

"Whoa, okay, h-h-hold it right there, Lucy!" the prankster put Lucy back on the couch and brushed her hair. "Listen, Lynn is many things: A jerk, a jock, way too obsessed with sports, among other things, but she would never be a murderer, or someone without a sense of humor, like Maggie!"

"Then what do you call what she implied she was going to do?!" Lucy snapped.

"Desperation," Luan's stern tone caused Lucy to calm down, if only a little. "I mean, we all just found out about our counterparts, and who knows, maybe she even had some interaction with her. And since none of them seem to mean good business, she's just trying to find a way to try and beat them before they do... Whatever they're planning to do."

"Still, it doesn't excuse her trying to summon another one with potentially horrible consequences!" the goth argued.

"Of course not, nothing could justify such a thing. But, she most likely had her reasons." Luan put her hand on Lucy's shoulder. "Just as we all do, right?"

Lucy frowned, and as she thought about her sister's reasoning, she couldn't help but ask something:

"Where do you think Other Luna took Maggie?"

Luan flinched at the mention, specially considering what she went through with the teenager. She promptly took out her phone, went to contacts, then eyed Maggie's phone number as she said:

"Well, Lucy, wherever she is..."

Then, without a hint of remorse, she erased Maggie's contact.

"I hope she stays there."

 _Meanwhile, at the Santiago household..._

Ronnie flinched and stopped right in place as Bobby opened the door to see Sam, Tabby, and Polly outside. He let them inside, and Polly immediately rolled to Ronnie while Sam put a crying Tabby down the couch. "Ronnie, hello?!" Polly asked as she shook the tomboy as hard as she could. "Come on, dude, come back to us!"

And so, one slap to the face later, Ronnie. "Oh, hi Polly, I didn't see you arrive," the freckled tomboy remarked as Polly dusted her. "Sorry, I felt some dangerous presence nearby and I, kinda blacked out for a moment."

But then, the sounds of sobbing caught Ronnie's attention, and she and Polly turned around to see Tabby, hands covering her face, crying her heart out as her sister Sam tried to comfort her. "Tabby, what happened?" Ronnie walked closer to the musician. "Why are you crying?"

Naturally, Sam shot a glare at Ronnie before taking a deep breath and turning on the television. It was currently showing Catherine Butterfly, the reporter from before, getting ready to speak. "And now, for a reminder for anybody who was not around to hear the special broadcast-"

She narrowed her eyes before hissing, "Which is basically everybody ever-"

Then went back to normal before finishing, "We'll repeat today's news. Today, soon after the "mutated house" incident, another incident happened when a massive head-shaped energy sphere crashed down the local poetry club."

And once the screen showed the resulting aftermath of the attack, Bobby immediately ran to his sister and tried to cover her eyes, only for her to slap him away and behold the carnage as Polly looked away and Tabby cried even harder. "Some people claim that the person who used the thing called it "The Edgy Sphere of Despair", other simply state "ow the edge" in a melodramatic tone. More at nine."

Sam turned off the television, and Tabby managed to calm down long enough to turn to Ronnie and, with an utterly devastated look, explained herself: "The only reason Sam, Polly, and I managed to survive was thanks to some girl named Carol who took us out in time through... Some weird means."

"Everybody else..." Sam sighed. "Wasn't so lucky."

"I brought them here 'cause I figured you could help me cheer her up again," Polly told Ronnie, catching her attention. "Provide us some beds, a couple snacks, just something that could help Tabby forget the fact that... Well, the sphere happened."

"I'm not so sure, Polly," Ronnie twiddled her fingers. "Do you really think a sleepover or something like that will really help Tabby recover from the trauma?"

"Ronnie, I wasn't sure if staying with you would cheer me up with my issues with Lynn, but I decided to stay with you anyway," Polly put a hand in Ronnie's shoulder. "And while I still don't feel like I completely got over it, you did get to make me feel a little better. And all I'm asking, is that you do the same for Tabby, who really needs it."

"Alright then," Ronnie turned to her brother. "Bobby, get the snacks and prepare our three guests-"

"Actually, just two," Tabby stated, sniffing as she wiped off her tears. "Sam has to go home."

"I sure as heck am not going back there!" Sam snapped, causing her younger sister to flinch. "I mean, you just went through some intense horror right there! As your older sister, It's my duty to stay by your side and do whatever I can do to-"

"Sam, your attempts to do that back at the club nearly gave me a heart attack cause you forced me to show off!" Tabby snapped right at her sister, making Polly, Ronnie, and Sam flinch, while Bobby just looked at the situation with worry. "If you really, you'll go back and you'll let mom know that we're okay!"

The teenager, however, just glared back at her sister, which they maintained before Bobby gave a suggestion: "Look, Ronnie can deal with Polly and Tabby, and Sam and I do something else?"

"Fine, let's do what he suggests," Sam hissed, then got up and walked to the guy. "But just a heads up: I'm not into Latinos, or guys in the first place! That is the way of the Swagger-!"

"Whatever," Bobby stated. "Oh, and just a heads up: I'm not into older sisters who act like they were babies."

With that said, Bobby and an exasperated Sam went to get the snacks, while Ronnie saw Polly sit next to and comfort Tabby as she said, "You two comfort each other while I make a call, and then we can begin the sleepover or whatever."

The pair nodded, and Ronnie went upstairs and opened her dresser to find the phone number of... Carol Pingrey.

Speaking of her...

Carol was washing the dishes when she saw the phone next to her ring. She closed her eyes and was surrounded by a dual seafoam green-light blue aura as she levitated the phone to her ear.

"Hello, you're calling the number of Carol Pingrey," Carol cheerfully greeted. "What can I help you with?"

"Hello, Carol?" Ronnie greeted in return. "It's me, Ronnie Anne, Bobby's younger sister."

"Oh, Bobby's sister?" Carol raised an eyebrow. "I don't think we've met before. Is there something you need?"

"Yes, listen, I need your help with something... An intervention, for my friend..."

 _Meanwhile, at the original reality..._

Proto-Luna entered the center of the void, where she encountered Proto-Lori and Proto-Leni... With their chains having partially turned into another color, seafoam green for Proto-Leni, light blue for Proto-Lori.

"Did you call me, High sis-"

Suddenly, Proto-Luna was struck by a potent headache, followed by what looked like her veins glowing light blue as Proto-Lori's eyes glew.

"Luna, we heard that you, using one of the tainted children, caused a lot of sinners to perish in a fiery blaze," Proto-Leni remarked before chirping. "Well done, girl! But we'd appreciate if you refraid from repeating it."

Proto-Lori released the prototype musician. "Why?! That's exactly what Lincoln wants!"

"Yes, that's one way to look at it, but we can't let accomplishing Lincoln's mysterious ultimate goal jeopardize our chances to return to the world we lost," Proto-Lori explained. "After all, the Royal Woods Defense Forces exist for a reason."

"That blasted organization..." Proto-Luna narrowed her eyes. "Don't worry, High Sisters, I'll make sure not to repeat what happened today. And in fact..."

Proto-Luna smirked.

"We have a visitor to convert to our cause."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

The other sisters just gave the prototype comedian a look of disbelief as she flew up, then went straight to Maggie, whose worry worsened once she saw the prankster approaching her. Memories and flashbacks of the comedian, specially images from when they fought, flashed in Maggie's mind as she was filled with horror, fear... And disgust.

"Greetings, mortal from the new reality," Proto Luan affably greeted as she landed at the edge of the platform. "You may call me-"

"I know just what to call you, blabbering, unfunny sack of shitty comedy!" Maggie opened her hand and charged some energy in it. "You may have pestered me back when I was in the real world, but I sure as hell won't let you torment in wherever we are at!"

Once Maggie gathered enough energy to form an energy sphere, the ground started to shake violently, which the protosisters could feel from their own platform nearby. However, while most of them were at least slightly surprised, Proto Lynn, Proto Luna, and specially Proto Luan, were more amused.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?" Proto Luan raised an eyebrow.

"I used my pain and anger to make your gothic sister pay!" the ball was surrounded by electricity. "And now, I will use my fear and despair, to send you to kingdom come!"


	25. Belly of the Prototype Beast

**Okay, everyone, here's the last chapter I post before returning to a weekly schedule. This is also the chapter that will try to explain some of the things you may have been wondering for a while.**

 **And trust me, some of this information might surprise you.**

 **Anyway, let's move on.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Haiku was killed at the hospital despite Leni's attempts to struggle against Proto-Lori's control. In her last breath, Haiku revealed her hope for Lucy to what she thought was a hallucination of her, and perished soon afterwards. Back in the house, Lucy and Lynn got into an argument after Lynn suggested using the summoning book to get the other proto-sisters, and to top it all of, the original reality got a visitor.  
**

 **A familiar visitor...**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Belly of the Progenitor Beast! Whatever Happened to... Maggie?**

* * *

 _Sometime later, at the original reality..._

Maggie slowly woke up, only to find herself on top of a single platform in the void that was known as the original reality. She took a quick look around as she scratched her head, and the only thing she saw was the vast, empty void, alongside some other platforms she couldn't reach.

"Where am I?" the emo teen pondered. "Last thing I remember is concentrating my pain and agony into one massive ball, then throwing it at one of Lucy's favorite places to spite her, but after that... Nothing..."

Then, her phone rang.

"Ugh, I think I know who this is."

Once Maggie answered her phone, however, she just received a message: "You have been taken out of Luan Loud's contacts," written in bold letters. Naturally, having been pestered by Luan's phone calls before, and never coming close to getting used to it, she was rather shocked.

"She took me out of her contacts list!?"

She shivered, and tightened her hold on her phone.

"This... This..."

Suddenly, she jumped and lifted her arm high in the air.

"This is the greatest day of my life!"

And as she cheered for no longer being Luan's friend, the protosisters watched nearby, some in amusement, some in confusion. But most importantly, Proto Luan looked at her with an... Intrigued smile.

"Now that's a refreshing mortal: rejoicing, rather than freaking out," the prototype comedian remarked.

"One of the few people who cared about me is out of my life forever!" Maggie shouted in delight, only to be hit with an awful realization which brought her to tears. "One of the few people who _cared_ about me is out of my life, _forever_!"

"And that's the despairing realization that calls for our intervention," Faker Luan scoffed. "Let's go see her."

The other sisters just gave the prototype comedian a look of disbelief as she flew up, then went straight to Maggie, whose worry worsened once she saw the prankster approaching her. Memories and flashbacks of the comedian, specially images from when they fought, flashed in Maggie's mind as she was filled with horror, fear... And disgust.

"Greetings, mortal from the new reality," Not-Luan affably greeted as she landed at the edge of the platform. "You may call me-"

"I know just what to call you, blabbering, unfunny sack of shitty comedy!" Maggie opened her hand and charged some energy in it. "You may have pestered me back when I was in the real world, but I sure as hell won't let you torment in wherever we are at!"

Once Maggie gathered enough energy to form an energy sphere, the ground started to shake violently, which the proto-sisters could feel from their own platform nearby. However, while most of them were at least slightly surprised, Proto Lynn, Proto Luna, and specially Proto Luan, were more amused.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing?" Luan's counterpart raised an eyebrow.

"I used my pain and anger to make your gothic sister pay!" the ball was surrounded by electricity. "And now, I will use my fear and despair, to send you to kingdom come!"

Finally, with enough energy charged, Maggie aimed the sphere at the prototype comedian and shot a dark grey beam at her, all while shouting "Laser of Despair!" at the top of her lungs. However, the original Luan just smirked as the beam struck her, then continued onto the platform the other proto-sisters were on, causing it to explode into smithereens and forcing the girls to jump onto other platforms.

With the beam having been shot, Maggie caught her breath as her arm went limp from the shot, and watched at the smoke dispersed to reveal Pseudo-Luan's whole right arm had been vaporized by the blast. Just as she started to enjoy it, however, it was ruined by the simple fact that Proto Luan wasn't disturbed. In fact, going by her wide, smug smirk, she was nowhere close to being afraid.

"Congratulations, you just graduated from emo into an edgelord," Not-Luan scoffed with vivid laughter. "I bet you're very proud of yourself!"

"Why aren't you in pain?!" Maggie called.

Proto Luan raised an eyebrow.

"After tormenting me by sending me endless stupid messages, and calls, and treating me like I was your friend, I finally get the chance to make you pay for it, and you can't even be nice enough to shriek!?" Maggie whined, shedding a couple tears as she tried to move her arm, which still felt limp. "I mean, for crying out loud, I vaporized your right-"

Suddenly, the prototype comedian messily regenerated her right arm like it was nothing, complete with disturbingly organic noises. To say Maggie was horrified at this action would be an understatement.

"-A-Arm..."

"Let me make one thing clear, darling: Nothing you can do to me means anything in this corpse we call the original reality," P-Luan promptly teleported right in front of Maggie. "Death isn't a concept in this place anymore."

She proved it by basically ripping off Maggie's heart, right in front of her eyes, then crushing it with her bare hands. However, instead of feeling dizzy from the blood loss, Maggie's heart soon regenerated, followed by her body itself healing until it covered the nasty wound left behind. Maggie was both amazed, and scared of this fact: On the one hand, this meant that no matter what happened, she would still be alive by the end of it.

On the other hand, this also applied to Other Luan...

"See? It means nothing," the comedian remarked, before grabbing Maggie's chin and forcing the girl to look at her. "Now, allow me to elaborate on why you don't want to fight me, besides the obvious, and how it would be more beneficial if you worked for me. First things first: I'm not interested in hurting you unless provoked. Second: You're nothing more than a mortal, a runt, if I put even the tiniest of efforts in hurting you, then you'd be nothing more than a pint of blood splattered on the ground."

"Something tells me I should take your word for it and not find out on my own," Maggie blurted, fear being a prominent part in her tone.

"Yeah, that's called common sense, you should listen to it every once in a while," Faker Luan bopped Maggie's nose, causing the girl to growl in frustration. "Third: I'd rather see what you have to offer before I decide whether you're worth keeping or not. I'll send you to meet up with a fellow... Companion, for lack of a better word, and let you rest up while my sisters and I set up an arena for us to fight, understood?"

Maggie nodded, and without saying a word, "Luan" gestured Luna to take Maggie with the fellow "companion," which she obliged. However, just as Luna took Maggie elsewhere, Proto Lynn leaped from her position and landed in front of an unimpressed prototype comedian. "Wait a minute, don't I get a say in this?!" the prototype athlete hissed.

"Oh great, here comes the monkey girl," Proto Luan turned to her sister and growled, "What do you want, Lynn?"

"You know our agreement; I'd at least get a chance to test new visitors out with my bare hands, and yet the first thing you do once she comes here is beat her up, then decide to build the arena to fight her, all without hearing me first!" Proto-Lynn whined, stomping the ground hard enough to leave craters. "What makes you think you can just pop in, do my job, and steal all of the fun!?"

"Ugh, all of this endless barking is just intolerable!" the prototype comedian groaned before shooting a glare at the athlete. "Will you stop spouting nonsense already?"

Clearly offended by the remark, Proto Lynn nonetheless caught her breath and calmed down before saying, in a clearly forced cheerful tone, "I honestly think you should've let me fight that emo brat before we deciding anything."

"Lynn, we both know you're way too tough for a newcomer like her. You'd probably wind up hugging her so hard, her organs would be stabbed by her own ribs, which would promptly break as her organs exploded into a mushy pile of blood." Proto Luan's glare intensified. "And that's before you get rough."

"Oh please, I promise I will go easy on her!" Proto-Lynn put on the puppy dog eyes act. "I'll only break some of her organs!"

Proto Luan, however, was not having any of that jazz. "I'd rather not drive her nuts just now. After all, we both know what happened to the last newcomer who fought you. I'll fight her, and this is the end of this discussion."

With that said, Proto Luan walked away before flying out of the platform, leaving behind an dissatisfied Proto Lynn.

 _Back with Maggie..._

The emo teen was taken by Proto Luna to a part in her domain: A small, secluded room, filled with what seemed like endless chain breaker versions of herself, Haiku, and many other girls in Royal Woods. And among the chain breakers, she could faintly see a girl who looked like the twins, though she herself only saw a girl.

"W-What is this place?" Maggie asked, trying to hide her fear with contempt. "What's up with my copies and those L-shaped or whatever masks?"

"If you're deemed unworthy of redemption, we'll simply turn you into a chain breaker: a minion lacking free will who does whatever we tell them to do, without hesitation, without ifs or buts." Proto Luna bluntly explained, before adding with a motherly tone. "But don't worry, knowing this, you'll likely try your hardest to convince us to let you keep your free will. Cheerio."

The prototype rocker pushed Maggie inside then closed the door, upon which she flew away as Maggie took a deep breath and approached the only unmasked girl in the room. Not that it was difficult, since the chain breakers just stood around, seemingly not even noticing her presence.

"Hey, um, hi," the teen greeted once she got close enough to the girl. "I'm new to... Wherever this is, so, if you could give me some pointers as to how things work here-"

The girl snapped at her, revealing herself to be Lindsey Sweetwater. However, parts of her hair had turned white, she gained eye bags that would make Lincoln blush, and just generally looked perturbed.

Naturally, Maggie was shocked at the sight. "Dude, what happened to you?!"

"What happened to me? What happened to me?! Lynn happened, that's what!" Lindsey shouted, slamming her bandaged fist into the ground. Surprisingly, only Maggie flinched at the act, while everybody else seemingly ignored it. "Lola's identical cousin or whatever sent me to this "original reality" place, where I met someone claiming to be "Lynn Loud," and then, just before I could ask what the heck was going on, she beat me black and blue, day and night, ever since the beauty pageant!"

However, Maggie was quick to point something out: "Didn't that pageant happen a couple days ago?"

"In a place where time and death doesn't exist, a second could be as long as a year and you wouldn't even notice," Lindsey got on a fetal position and cried. "I should know, after she finished beating me the first time, I couldn't even tell how long time had passed until she explicitly told me that, by "new reality" standards, only a couple hours had passed."

Lindsey covered her face with her arms, and cried harder. "And then she ruined me... Tormented me... Tortured me... For days to an end... And here I am now, a broken plaything for her to play and break without a care in the world, since death is impossible in this place."

Strangely enough, Maggie felt some sympathy for the bruised copycat, so she whistled and gestured what looked like a nurse chain breaker version of herself to come to her.

"Listen, this girl really needs some medical attention, and I'd appreciate it if you at least cleaned and fixed her bruises," Maggie explained, glancing at the redhead. "Besides, if you're another me, then certainly we should have the same logic, right?"

Luckily, the nurse chain breaker did have that logic, and after a couple minutes, Lindsey was as good as new. Physically, any way.

"W-Why did you ask her to fix me up?" the redhead stuttered in confusion. "Y-You didn't have to."

Maggie shrugged. "Because I found you to be very much in need of help, and hey, if it makes you easier to look at, the better."

Without warning, Lindsey leaned closer and clung to Maggie's arm tightly. When Maggie turned to her, she pleaded, "You're the first person in here who has helped me. Please, don't leave me."

Surprisingly enough, Maggie just smiled abd brushed the redhead's hair as she answered, "I won't leave, not yet."

And so, for the rest of the wait for the arena, Lindsey and Maggie remained together. And strangely enough, despite being surrounded by chain breakers, the duo felt like they were the only ones in the room at all.

And... They didn't really mind, somehow.

 _Sometime later, at the arena..._

Proto Luan stood in the middle of a large platform, surrounded by plateaus, mountains, and trees, though their glitchy nature soon revealed they weren't exactly the real deal. The remaining sisters sat on a nearby platform, acting as the audience, with Proto Lynn particularly looking upset at the match. And then Proto Luna flew to the arena, pushed Maggie into it, then joined the audience as Proto Lily teleported to Other Luan's side, wearing a little referee outfit.

"Okay, who put the baby here?" Maggie asked, sounding genuinely dumbfounded.

" _Good evening, everybody! Welcome to another edition of Proto vs Neo!_ " Proto Lily spoke to everybody through telepathy, making Maggie go from dumbfounded to utterly lost as the audience cheered as loudly as they could. " _In this corner, the comedian, the master of jokes, the girl who makes up for her lack of femininity with an amazing, if grim, sense of humor: Luan Loud!_ "

Proto Luan pulled a pair of peace signs as most of her siblings cheered for her, except for Proto Lynn, who yelled "Screw you!" at the top of her lungs.

" _And on the other corner, we got a visitor from the new world, who was selected by High Sister Luna to help us achieve our goals of regaining the reality that was taken away from us!_ " Proto Lily pointed at the emo teen. " _Maggie! I don't know her surname, sorry._ "

Nobody cheered, and in fact, only the sounds of crickets were heard as the dumbfounded teenager waved hello.

"Well, at least the crickets are applauding." and then the crickets stopped. "Anyhow, let the match begin!"

The baby teleported back to the audience, and Maggie immediately dashed straight to Proto Luan and pulled a fast barrage of punches and kicks at her, which the prototype comedian took with stride and a smug smile. "What's the matter? Too scared to fight back?!" Maggie trash talked, flashing a smirk at the supernatural prankster.

Proto Luan didn't answer, instead, she returned the smirk as her chest expanded, with some notable points where her nipples would be. Then, they got longer until they hit Maggie in the gut, and then, without warning, a pair of torpedoes came out of the place where breasts would be, sending Maggie right back to her spot on the arena as Proto Luan's clothes regenerated and she laughed at the succeeding explosion.

Surprisingly enough, not only did Maggie survive the attack, but she was completely unhurt, save for some minor scratches and bruises all over her body. "What the hell was that all about!?" the emo teen shouted, her anger resurfacing.

"That was Gag Technique: Torpedo Tits." the prototype comedian explained, narrowing her eyes. "Just 'cause I have access to my own version of the Zero technique, wink wink, doesn't mean it's the only thing I can do."

Maggie looked surprised at the supernatural joker's "wink wink" comment, until Proto Lynn basically spelled it out to her: "Charge your energy and shoot an energy blast or beam, that's the basic technique we call Zero, jackass!"

"And that's not all, we all have different variations: For example, mine is called Gag Zero."

Learning rather quickly, Maggie smirked, charged some energy then shouted "Edgy Zero!" before shooting a dark grey energy blast at Proto Luan... Who simply smacked the energy blast off into the distance, all while maintaining a stern smile.

"You don't need to say the name to shoot it, you just shoot it, dumbass," she explained as she shook her head. "Then again, seeing as you're an impure, sin-filled maggot, I can't expect you to learn something so simple."

Maggie charged some more energy blasts and shot them, with each being deflected by Proto Luan with little effort. Notably, the supernatural comedian's smile turned into a frown. "You're shooting those rather slow, don't you think?"

Then Maggie asked, "Well, how do I say it? Rapid Edgy Zero, or Edgy Rapid Zero?"

Proto Luan was not amused. "Again, you don't have to say the attack's name to shoot it-"

"What am I supposed to say, bitch!?"

Flinching at the blatant disrespect, Proto Luan took a deep breath and answered, "Use whichever one you like."

With that said, Maggie charged an energy blast, then shouted "Edgy Rapid Zero!" before shooting a rapid barrage of energy blasts at Luan's predecessor. Some did manage to hit her, but all she got were a couple bruises. In fact, by the time the barrage ended, Proto Luan could only yawn in boredom as her injuries quickly healed.

"You know, I'm getting kinda bored of this, so how about I entertain myself by telling you something that'll make your skin shiver?" the supernatural joker suggested, causing Maggie to back away a little. "That's right, I'll tell you the origin of the universe, and then you can tell me if you still think fighting against me, heck, fighting against us in general, is even worth it."

The other proto sisters flinched at the suggestion, but the one who was most terrified of the suggestion was Maggie, who could see right in Proto Luan's eyes that she wasn't joking. "Wait, wouldn't learning such a secret drive me insane?!" Maggie argued, trying to get out of the revelation.

However, Proto Luan answered by revealing an even worse truth: "You'll be driven insane anyway, but learning how the universe came to be will drive you insane in a more mental way, while what we'll do to you will drive you nuts in a physical manner," then, her smirk grew wider. "So, mental madness, or physical insanity, your choice."

Seeing that it was up to her, but that the supernatural sisters wouldn't go easy on her either way, Maggie took a deep breath, walked closer to the prototype comedian, then sat down before answering:

"Tell me the origin of the universe."

Proto Luan smiled and sat down, brushing Maggie's hair as she started to tell the origin: First, an image popped in Maggie's mind, showcasing an empty void, and alongside it the proto sisters... And Lincoln. Oh, and there was a massive shadowy figure behind them.

"In the beginning, there was nothing but an endless void, until "He" who is known as The Maker of Everything, The One Above Everyone, The Creator and thousands other names, created the first beings to ever exist: The lord and savior, Lincoln Loud, the first boy to ever come into existence, and his ten sisters. Us."

Then, a world was created, and they all went to live there.

"The Maker of Everything soon created a world where we all lived in perfect harmony, with the occasional teasing and beat up, of course, but we still loved our dear brother with all our hearts. However, with only us in existence, it became rather lonely, very fast."

The time changed to night, and a blushing Lincoln stood away from his sisters... While covering his crotch.

"Then, one day, the Maker of Everything gave Lincoln a simple mission: Help populate the world, with us bearing his children. Naturally, he wasn't very interested in the idea, specially since he saw us more as family, rather than mates."

Next, the proto sisters surrounded Lincoln, and gave him enough encouragement, so that the next image showed them getting busy... And by that I mean the house moving up and down, with hearts coming out all the windows.

"But with some persuasion and encouragement from us, he decided to give it a shot. He impregnated all of us with his children, and thanks to the power of The One Above Everyone, we gave birth to them soon afterwards."

The next image showed Lincoln, the proto sisters, and their fully grown "children" with a fully populated world.

"Lincoln and Lori created Bobby and tons of people obsessed with technology. Lincoln and Leni created fashionistas and mall cops, oddly enough. Lincoln and Luna created rock stars, punks, and Mick Swagger-"

Maggie flinched and felt a chill go up her spine when she heard Mick Swagger among the list.

"Don't worry, it's not the same Mick Swagger as the one in your reality."

This calmed the emo down. Somewhat.

"Anyway, as I was saying: Lincoln and I created comedians and clowns. Lincoln and Lynn created athletes and sports-obsessed junkies. Lincoln and Lucy created nihilists and poets. Lincoln and Lana created people who loved animals, and furries. Lincoln and Lola created beauty pageant participants and divas in general, and finally, Lincoln and Lisa created prodigies, teachers and scientists. And, once more, we all lived in harmony."

Then, the image went completely black.

"But then, something happened."

Then the neo sisters popped into existence.

"The One Above Everyone decided we needed to change, that he needed new versions of us. So he created new versions of us, who shared our names, but we decided to call them "Neo-Sisters" to avoid confusion."

Then, Lincoln left the populated world of the proto reality and reunited with the neo-sisters.

"According to The Maker, he decided Lincoln would live with these new sisters in a "new reality," and so, our lord left us. Back then, we were devastated, but what came next destroyed us."

Suddenly, the image changed to show Lincoln and the neo-sisters, in their angelic forms, attacking and destroying the inhabitants of the original reality, while the proto-sisters fought, and failed.

"Through some unknown means, but related to a Lori and a Leni, our reality and everybody inhabiting it was deemed unworthy of ascending to the new reality. Because the land was tainted, the children were impure, and we, his former sisters... Were corrupted. And so, a massive genocide happened, ending in the near extinction of our and Lincoln's original children."

Finally, the proto sisters were shown in the middle of a scorched earth, with the corpses of their children surrounding them as they cried in anguish.

"Where there used to be life, there was now death. Where there used to be hope, there was now despair. Where there used to be peace..."

Then, they opened their eyes, which were glowing their respective colors: Blue for Other Lana, yellow for Other Luan, and so on.

"There was now a desire for revenge."

Up next, all the proto sisters were shown about to fight against their neo counterparts... And their own brother.

"So, with the last bit of strength we had, we faced off against our counterparts, and our own brother, in a last ditch attempt to get him to reconsider, for only he had the power to resurrect the dead. But alas, we failed."

Next, the proto sisters were shown suspended in mid air, before their counterparts and even Lincoln, sealed them in wrapping, with a keyhole among st the wraps. Not only that, but they all did it as L-shaped symbols glowed in their palms.

"As punishment for our "unjustified defiance of the lord," our counterparts, or Lincoln in Lori and Leni's case, sealed us in wrapping to be used as the bases that would hold the weight of the new reality. For as long as we were imprisoned, the new reality would be safe from danger, and as long as our counterparts lived, we'd be nothing more than immobile pillars."

Then, the Loris and Lenis were shown, with a chain connection Proto Lori with Neo Leni, and Proto Leni with Neo Lori.

"However, before Lori and Leni were imprisoned, and before the Three Gates-which you'll eventually, just not now-were created, Lori and Leni managed to capture and turn Neo-Leni and Neo-Lori, respectively, in their servants. How they did it, we don't know, but now, they possess some degree of power over them. That gave us a faint glimmer of hope."

Suddenly, the next thing shown was Lincoln and the neo-sisters basically teleporting the original reality's earth into the new reality, leaving behind nothing more than small platforms for the proto sisters.

"With that said, though, we lost in the end: Our home, our brother, our children, everything was destroyed or taken away. So Lincoln and the neo-sisters repopulated the earth in the new reality, and... Well, the rest is history."

Now that the story was over, Proto Luan released Maggie's forehead, her arm and Maggie herself shivering as she did. The emo teen soon looked up, revealing she was crying and her tears were going down her cheeks, and she saw Proto Luan was also crying, though in her case, she looked like she would break down any moment. However, once she saw the emo looking at her with surprise, she wiped off her tears and calmed down.

"A-Anyway, that's the origin of the universe, of our reality, and of your reality," the supernatural comedian got up and dusted herself as Maggie also wiped off her tears. "Now, you may be wondering what exactly plan to do, specially considering you probably have had a meeting with one of my sisters."

Maggie turned to the other proto sisters, who were also crying, with Proto Lucy taking the moment to flip her off. "Yeah, the one that looks like the goth."

Proto-Luan chuckled and swapped places with Proto Luna so fast, Maggie had to glanced between the pair just to see if they really just did that. Then, just as Maggie tried to process what just happened, Not-Luna spoke:

"Well then, our plan is simple: You heard how we had everything taken from us thanks to The Maker and the neo sisters. Well, since The Creator hasn't been seen since then and nobody know where he is, not to mention the fact that some of my sisters have already been unsealed, we plan to take everything back: Our brother, our reality, and most importantly, we'll make our counterparts pay for what they did!"

The other proto sisters stood up and shouted "All hail Lincoln!" as the void that was the original reality turned orange, before the blank void was replaced by a whole ocean of Lincoln's face.

"We'll make them suffer for not only destroying our children and taking our brother, but failing to do our job properly: Love the lord with all their hearts!"

Then, getting a sadistic smirk, she stomped the ground and raised her arm.

"For their failure to properly love the lord and savior, they'll be tortured 'till their minds break! They'll be forced to watch as our children are murdered right in front of their eyes, with them unable to do anything about it! And finally... And finally...!"

Proto Luna raised both arms as an image of the scorched earth appeared above her, followed by an image of Lincoln.

"The world they razed, the world they stole, shall be burned to ashes and purged from all sin, so the lord and his true sisters, may restart everything all over again!"

Soon afterwards, the sounds of demented laughter filled the original reality, and it came from two sources: the proto sisters, and the faces of Lincoln. However, after a while, Proto Luna calmed down, and the orange sea of faces returned to the blank, lifeless void before Proto Luna and Proto Luan swapped places once more.

"I apologize if High Sister Luna was a bit too... Excited, for your taste," Proto Luan turned to look at Proto Luna, who took several deep breaths while trying to calm herself from being lost in the bloodlust. "She is _very_ enthusiastic about this plan."

Maggie just shivered as she too turned to look at Proto Luna, and couldn't help but wonder just how much worse all of the proto sisters could be.

"There's a bit more to it, of course... Kind of, but that's all the information you need to know." she stated, catching the emo's attention. "So, now that you know all of this, do you still think you wanna fight against us? Or would you rather help us achieve our goal?"

Just as Maggie prepared to answer, however, the primordial comedian shut her up. "Uh uh uh, let me give you another bit of information, just so you don't blindly decide like a stupid little sheep: I'm not even the "strongest" of the older set, that honors goes to Lynn."

Maggie turned to the audience and spotted Proto Lynn, flashing a malicious smirk while cracking her knuckles so hard she crushed them in half, causing Proto Lucy to flinch. "And even she pales in comparison to our high sisters, Lori and Leni," Proto Luan flashed a demented, if a little fearful, smile. "Who are right above you."

With another chill going up her spine, Maggie looked up, and saw Neo-Lori and Neo-Leni, looking at her with blank looks, though it was clear Lori's look was leaning towards hatred, while Leni's leaned towards pity.

"No, not those ones, the ones above them," the prototype comedian hastily corrected.

Maggie further looked up, and saw the imprisoned Proto Lori and Proto Leni, who were looking at her with looks of both disdain and disgust.

"So, with all of that in mind," Proto Luan offered her hand to the disturbed emo. "Will you join us, or be forced to join us?"

Maggie eyed the hand she was being offered, and even though she just saw the horrors this comedian was capable of, she still couldn't help but remember if she agreed to help, then she'd be agreeing to help Luan. Someone who looked like her, yes, but still, the mere thought of agreeing to help a version of Luan Loud filled her with disgust.

So, she promptly slapped Proto Luan's hand away and proclaimed: "Don't make me laugh! Your counterpart caused me way too much pain and aggravation back when I was in Royal Woods, and I sure as hell won't join you just because you have the power to kick my ass! So go ahead, drive me nuts! Force me to join! But I will never join you, or anybody who looks like Luan Loud!"

The other proto sisters gave Maggie furious look, feeling utterly furious at the girl's disrespectful response: They reveal both their plan, their origin, and what they would do to her, and yet this is what she says in return? However, Proto Luan just slowly clapped her hands and chuckled, apparently not offended at the remark at all.

In fact, she looked outright impressed.

"I'm so glad we're on the same page. Okay, so, since you seem like a spunky, though spoiled little child who learns quick, how about I give you some tips and rules of how your life is going to be, from this point to the inevitable loudgeddon?" Proto-Luan suggested with a calm, yet clearly mocking and smug, tone.

Naturally, there was only one way Maggie would respond: throwing a punch. "Go to hell!"

The protosisters flinched and gasped, but the most visibly shocked was Proto-Luna, who grit her teeth in offense. Proto-Luan, however, caught the punch like it was nothing and smiled as she explained:

"Correction: Spunky, disrespectful spoiled child. Now listen up: You're now in the original reality, our reality. Forget your home. Forget your family. Forget your friends, if you even had any, because from now on, we're the only people in your life."

Then, she tightened her hold on the fist.

"You'll do as we say, you'll act like we say, and you'll only speak when spoken to. You'll either do it willingly, or be forced to do it, your right to negate our wishes has been stripped away. And if you just so happen to anger us any further, well, your whole free will shall be stripped away too. So be a good girl, and obey."

Finally, Maggie, shedding a couple tears, looked up and grimaced when she saw the prototype comedian's face staring right into her eyes with a cold, uncaring glare.

"Get it?"

Suddenly, Protot-Luan sent Maggie flying up high with a kick, before she teleported slightly above her and kicked her right in the spine, causing it to snap in half and for Maggie to spit out blood. Then, as she plummeted to the ground, Maggie let out a shriek of agony that stopped only when she crash landed, leaving behind a large crater.

What caused her even more pain, however, was her spine somehow automatically reconnecting and fixing itself, with painful, boney sounds included! Once it finished, Maggie took the time to catch her breath as Proto-Luan landed next to her, followed by Proto-Lynn walking up to her.

"So, who should keep this little brat with them for the rest of the "day", Luan?" Proto Lynn asked, flashing a sadistic, almost lustful, grin at the crippled emo teen. "I'm rather interested in getting a brand new punching bag after Lucy exhausted her entertainment value years ago."

"I'll be the one to keep her," Proto Luan answered, before she crouched down and grabbed Maggie's chin. "After all, she caused my counterpart quite a lot of trouble. Anybody who is willing to do deserves to be made submissive by my hand."

The emo teen could only swallow her fears: Whatever they were planning to do to her, it certainly wasn't going to be pretty. "Oh, and since you told me to go to hell, earlier, I think it's only fair I explain something to you," Proto Luan stated before she grabbed Maggie by the neck and lifted her.

"I can't go to hell, darling."

She tightened her hold on her neck, then flashed a sadistic, insane smirk.

"We're already in hell."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Lynn promptly hissed, "Lincoln, it's pointless: We have our counterparts to worry about! Besides, there's nothing wrong with my relationship with Polly, she's just blowing things out of proportion!"

"Look who's talking," the boy scoffed, earning a glare from his athletic sister. "I didn't make the intervention: Ronnie Anne spoke with Carol and the two decided to make the intervention for Polly's sake. Listen, it'll be a while before another counterpart pops up and tries to ruin our day, so please, take this chance and make amends with Polly!"

"There's no amends to make!" Lynn snapped. "Now tell them to cancel the intervention before I beat them up!"

Lincoln could only groan at the suggestion, not only because Carol on her own could probably dominate Lynn, but his sister's sheer stubbornness was starting to get on his nerves. So, he took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, Lynn, but you made me do this."


	26. Forget Interventions, Go Relax!

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, the intervention between Polly Pain, Lynn, and Carol brought forth several uncomfortable truths, which ended with Polly Pain running away, disraught and feeling betrayed. And though Lucy did manage to suggest a double date to help fix her broken heart, the girl was soon met with Leni, who seemed to bring with herself some bad news about Haiku...**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Out With the Drama, In With the Relief! Beach Trips and Double Dates, Here We Come!**

* * *

Back at Carol's house, everybody sat down on the grass and waited for Lincoln to arrive, which he did shortly afterwards. "Sorry for the wait, I had to take go check up on Polly Pain," the boy explained before he sat close to Lola. "The intervention really did a number on her."

"Well, let me tell you something, whatever it did, it couldn't have been worse than having her left arm ripped off!" Lola whined before showing her crippled left arm. "I mean, seriously, my and Lana's arms were ripped clean off, and nobody has paid attention to that since then!"

"Lola, shush, Carol's about to show us something!" Lana told her twin.

"That's right, everyone, I'm about to show you a technique that Lincoln himself invented!" Carol eagerly revealed, causing the sisters' eyes to fall on their brother. "Though, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't remember inventing it."

"Dude, you invented some sort of technique and you didn't even tell us?" Luna inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"This information is new to me too!" the boy argued. "A-Anyway, Carol, what is this technique?"

The teenager just chuckled and took a deep breath before answering, "First and foremost, you need one of two things: Either a determined mind, or one filled with unbridled rage."

Luan flinched at the second part. "Then, you must concentrate your energy into ascending beyond your mortal restraints!" Carol formed a pair of fists and was surrounded by her dual aura as the ground started to lightly shake. "So you can tap into the powers of divinity! Then, and only then, will you be able to activate..."

Carol raised her arms, then lastly lowered them before shouting, at the top of her lungs:

"Savinoken!"

Upon saying that, Carol gained a third, orange aura above her seafoam green and light blue one, alongside her whole body gaining a more orange color tint than before. Once everybody saw this, Luan gasped as she recognized this was the same power she used during the fight with Proto Lucy. Then, some seconds after activating it, Carol manually deactivated the Savinoken, causing her to turn back to normal-though notably more exhausted than before-and for the ground to stop shaking.

"Now, an important about the detail is that the Savinoken, alongside teleportation, consumes a lot of stamina, specially when used at the same time," Carol revealed as Lana got up and ran to her. "Now, if someone with infinite stamina used them, there would be no problem, but seeing as everybody has a finite amount of it-"

Suddenly, Lana hugged Carol's legs and said, looking at the teenager with stars in her eyes, "That was so cool! Please tell me how to do that!"

"Listen, I'd be happy to do that, but it's actually pretty late right now," everybody turned around to see the sunset was starting to turn into an outright night. "So, I guess we'll leave that for tomorrow. That is, if nothing gets us sidetracked..."

Everyone raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, I wanted to keep this a surprise until tomorrow, but seeing as everybody needs a break..." Carol clasped her hands together. "What would you say if I told you, that I'd like for you to come to the beach with me tomorrow?"

Everybody cheered up and promptly piled on top of Carol to give her a hug, though Lola also took the chance to snatch Lana back. With that done, everybody bid farewell and went back to the Loud house, where they were greeted by an unexpected, yet familiar face. It was Lisa, who was not only wearing a pair of black shades on top of her normal glasses, but was standing on top of the table.

"Greetings, intellectual inferiors!" the genius prodigy greeted with a boastful smile. "I'm finally back from my visit to Mom and Dad's place, did I miss anything important, besides whatever sent Lynn crashing into a wall?"

Everyone turned around to look at Lynn, who had crashed through a wall and left her lower body suspended in the air, in the perfect spot for a whooping. So of course, the sisters went on to spank Lynn as hard as they could while Lincoln approached Lisa. "A lot of weird stuff happened, but in the less weird side, Lynn revealed she only used Polly Pain to give me a good date and she wound up being really hurt by it."

"Well, in that case," Lisa took out her phone and aimed it at the scene. "Everybody say, Gluteus Maximus!"

The sisters stopped the spanking, turned to the phone and said "Gluteus Maximus!" while forcing big wide smiles. Then, once Lisa took the picture, the spankening continued. "Anyway, I'd like to explain why I'm in a happy mood: I spoke with my colleagues about the royal woodroid 5000!"

Upon hearing that, the sisters stopped the spanking and reunited with the duo, leaving Lynn stuck in the wall. "So, what happened with your idea for the giant robot?" Luan inquired.

Then, with a wide smile, the prodigy proclaimed: "They rejected it!"

"Then why would you be happy!?" Lincoln and the sisters asked in unison.

"It turns out, that while my design for the machine was rejected, there have actually been giant robots, in production, for quite a while now!" Lisa further explained. "It's just that most of these giant robots are still in a testing phase, and not yet ready to be publicly used, but once they're ready, the people of royal woods will finally be safe under the protection of giant freaking robots!"

"And what will you do with your original design?" Luna asked, crossing her arms.

"I'll just recycle my previous experiments, gather some more materials, and make it our own personal giant bodyguard!" "Granted, it would probably need several pilots just to work properly, but still, it'd be good to have it around."

"And how are you going to make it if the closest thing you have to a lab is your bedroom, which isn't big enough for even a giant robot finger?" Lynn questioned from outside the house, while Luna took out her guitar and walked outside. "And could someone get me out of this wall already!?"

Soon enough, Luna reached the other side of Lynn's wall, while Luan went to Lynn's side in the interior of the house. "Okay, Luan, at the count of three, you pull Lynn's legs while I smack her inside with my guitar!" Luna loudly instructed.

"I-I got some doubts about this plan," Lynn shivered.

Luna prepared her guitar. "Shut up and deal with it."

And as Luna and Luan tried to help Lynn get out, the other sisters went to their rooms, and Lincoln turned back to Lisa. "Hey, I don't want to rain on your parade, but don't you think a giant robot bodyguard is a stupid idea?" he pointed out. "Specially if it's build from your previous experiments, which more often than not, wound up blowing up in your face."

Lisa, naturally, wasn't happy with his remark. "What am I supposed to do with the seemingly endless scrap left from my previous experiments, then?!"

"...Just, ditch them?"

"Haven't you heard of recycling, Lincoln?" The prodigy jumped off the table and went upstairs. "Listen, I'll deal with all this jazz later, but for now, let's all just go back to our rooms and sleep, today's been a long day."

Lincoln rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it."

So the boy, believing the day was over, went upstairs and headed to his room. However, on the way there, he saw the twins in Lucy and Lynn's bedroom, with Lucy telling a story to the twins.

"It looks like any other normal crab, but it craves bikini bottoms!" Lucy started, making creepy motions with her hands. "So, if either of you would be stupid enough to go to its native beach with a two-piece bikini, maybe Lana, then this is what it would do to you!"

Lucy crawed around the twins, who hugged each other and shivered in fear. "It would crawl all around the place, stalking you until the right moment to strike!"

Then, Lucy peeked her hand under Lola's dress and grabbed her panties, causing the diva to squeal. "It would grab your bottom without you even knowing!"

The goth promptly pulled them harder and harder. "Then it would pull and pull and pull, until your bottom is so tight, you'd feel like you were a boy! And then..."

Lucy released Lola's panties, causing them to go right back to her and slap her. "It would release it, and bring you the nightmare, that is a discount spanking!"

Lucy went back to the front of the twins, and flashed them a diabolic smirk, "And that, is the horror, of the bottom crab!"

The twins screamed in horror and ran away shrieking "bottom crab!" at the top of her lungs, leaving Lucy behind to laugh at her story for a little while. And then Lincoln approached her. "Lucy, what just happened?"

"Luan saw me crying, and she said that maybe pulling a little joke story on the twins could cheer me up," the goth explained as the boy walked to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It did!... For a moment."

Naturally, Lincoln felt concerned when he heard the "crying" bit. "Crying? Why were you crying?"

Lucy, managing to gather enough strength to maintain her forced smile, shed a couple tears as she weakly stuttered, "L-Leni... She a-and Lori came back home... A-And... L-Leni t-told me s-something... S-Something that made me really upset, but now, I think I know how to deal with it! I just have to pull some other creepy stories and it should all sort itself out... Hopefully..."

Lincoln's attention was soon taken when he saw Lucy's poetry book was nowhere to be seen. "Say, where's your poetry book?" the boy inquired.

"I put it back at the attic, I'm taking a break from poetry," the goth revealed, no doubt utterly surprising the boy. "I need to do that, seeing how it only reminds me of Haiku, Maggie, and the whole mess it brought. Besides, ghost stories are a lot more fun and interesting."

"Lucy... Why were you crying?" Lincoln bluntly asked, sending shivers up the goth's spine. "You did trust me enough to tell me about your eyes, so why not tell me about this too? I promise I won't tell anybody."

The goth didn't need much time to think about whether to tell the truth to Lincoln: He was the boy he could trust the most, and he didn't tell anybody about the whole "lost her eyes due to a demonic mishap" thing, they only learned about it thanks to her counterpart, so... Maybe she could trust him with this truth...

"It's... It's... It's Haiku..."

Then, she stuttered some more:

"She... She... S-She..."

"She what, Lucy?! Tell me it already!" Lincoln exclaimed.

Then, with pain in her tone, Lucy revealed the truth:

"She's dead."

Lincoln gasped and separated from Lucy, though he managed to maintain his composure. "H-How? W-When?!"

"I don't know! Leni didn't elaborate any further!" the goth snapped, stomping the ground. "She just told me that someone told her that Haiku was dead, and when she came to check up on her, she had already perished. Although, they also told her what her final wish was."

Lincoln's eyes opened up in shock. "I just want Lucy to be happy. To be herself." then, Lucy hugged him tightly and cried in his "That's what she wanted. It's what she wanted all along. And it took me until she had freaking _died_ before I realized it!"

And as the goth cried in her brother's chest, Lincoln brushed her hair and rubbed her back, hoping this would at least comfort her to an extent.

Then, out of freaking nowhere, she asked, "Can I sleep with you tonight?"

"W-Why do you ask?" the boy inquired.

"I don't feel comfortable sleeping with Lynn today," Lucy separated and headed to Lincoln's room, with the boy following her nearby. "After what she revealed, and what she went through, not to mention how sad Polly sounded while I talked with her, she's probably got some major anger building up, and I don't wanna be there when she explodes."

"Well, that makes sense," once they got there, Lincoln welcomed his sister with open arms. "Welcome to my room! I'll make sure that my bed is comfortable for you-"

"Sleep with you on your bed? Pfft, I'm not sleeping there with you, that'd be weird!" the goth crouched and pointed under Lincoln's bed. "I'm going to sleep under the bed, where all the monsters hide!"

"Yeah, 'cause that's not nearly as weird," Lincoln scoffed. "But, whatever makes you happy."

And so, Lincoln slept on his bed while Lucy went to sleep under it.

 _The next day..._

Lincoln and some of his sisters-This being Luna, Luan, Lola, and Lana-finished packing their stuff for the beach and headed to the door, but not before having a delicious breakfast... Prepared by Lynn. The siblings figured she was trying to make up for what was revealed yesterday, but even if she was a darn good cook, a good breakfast wouldn't suffice.

"So, where are you all going?" Lynn inquired, trying to sound friendly.

"Well, we're going somewhere you can't come to, in order to avoid further angering us," Lola bluntly answered, taking a cautious bite out of her food before adding, "But, to be more blunt, Carol invited us to go to the beach in order to take a breather."

Then, Lynn realized something. "Wait, she invited some of you? What about Lori and Leni?"

"Actually, I don't know what's up with them, but I don't want to risk angering them by going to their room just to ask if they want to come with us," Lincoln explained. "Leni probably would like to go, but we need to stay as far away from Lori as possible."

"Agreed," Luan seconded without a second thought.

"Well, what about Lucy?"

"I asked her this morning, and she said she's going to go on a double date with Polly Pain," Lincoln nonchalantly answered. "She didn't tell me any other details though. And she already left to go look for her friends, too."

"So that would leave out Lily, who never does anything anyway, and Lisa, who'd probably not want to go to the beach at this time," Lynn pondered, scratching her chin with slight worry. "I guess I'll be staying here then, so, have fun at the-"

However, by the time Lynn said that, her siblings had already left for Carol's house. "-Beach," she finished somberly.

 _Meanwhile, at the Santiago's house..._

Ronnie and Tabby were playing a music video game with guitars while Polly cheered for Ronnie in the background. She also gave Tabby some cheers, but most of them were for Ronnie. And then they heard someone knock the door.

"I'll see who it is," Polly walked to the door, and once she opened it, she saw Lucy standing outside, carrying a small bag. "Oh hi Lucy, Ronnie and Tabby are facing off in a videogame-"

Suddenly, Tabby won. "Oh come on!" Ronnie growled in exasperation.

"Yes! Victory is mine!" Tabby chirped.

"Correction: They _were_ facing off in a videogame."

"That's fine," Lucy walked inside and Polly closed the door. "So, did you already pick what you're going to wear for the double date?"

"Of course!" Polly took a peek inside Lucy's bag. "And I figure that the bag you're carrying has what you're going to wear in it?"

"Yeah," Lucy slapped Polly's hand. "I sure hope the guys don't mind me wearing this in the park."

"Actually, the double date's going to take place here," Tabby clarified as she and Ronnie approached the duo.

"Wait, what?!" Polly and Lucy exclaimed in unison.

"After you finished talking with the boys, Tabby and I spoke with them and they agreed that, to save money and make it more simple, you four would have your double date here," Ronnie explained, before she and Tabby flashed smiles. "But those are minor details to be talked about later, for now..."

The girls lifted the goth and tomboy, with Ronnie lifting Lucy while Tabby lifted Polly, and then ran upstairs as they shouted "Fashion Time!" with delight. All while Polly and Lucy tried to get off and scold them.

 _Meanwhile, at Carol's house..._

The main team reached the house, and just before Lincoln could knock the door, Lana step right ahead of him and knocked three times. And soon afterwards, Carol opened the door and revealed she already had her bag ready. "Oh hi guys," Carol greeted. "I was just about to go look for you."

"Well, you already found us," Lana remarked with a shrug. "So, how are we going to get to the beach."

"I was thinking we could go see if a taxi-"

"A taxi? Forget about that, let's just fly to the beach!" Lola suggested.

Though her sisters did agree, with Lana being hesitant in her agreement, Lincoln wasn't with the majority. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea," he said, earning a look from Lola. "I mean

"Flying race!" Luan exclaimed before she flew up. "Whoever gets to the beach first flashes Lincoln!"

"Wait, what?!" Lincoln exclaimed in shock.

And by the time he realized what just happened, all of Lincoln's sisters already got a headstart over him. Luckily, though, Carol immediately offered to hitch him a ride, so he got up on her back and the duo flew in unison to the beach.

Now that it helped that much, since by the time they arrived, the first thing Lincoln saw-once he got off Carol that is-was Lola flashing her pink panties right at his face, scaring him into falling backwards into the sand.

"Like my new technique, Lincoln?" the diva asked as Luna and Luan laughed in unison. "I like to call it Diamond Flash: Panties Version. Now, if you're ready to change, go do it behind a tree or something while we, the ladies, do it in the dressing rooms."

"What?! Why?!"

"Because there's only enough dressers for us girls, and one is already occupied by Lana." Luna answered as she and Luan grabbed Carol's arms and dragged her to the dressers. "Now if you excuse us, we need to change!"

And so, Lincoln begrudgingly changed behind a tree while his sisters changed in the dressers. Then they all came out, wearing their normal swimsuits, so there was nothing of notice there.

Once Carol came out, however, everybody was utterly stunned: She was wearing a two-piece turquoise bikini, which accentuated her curves and hips. And they weren't the only ones, for some men, girls, and even Lana suffered massive nosebleeds upon seeing the girl in a bikini.

"S-So, how do I look?" Carol asked, blushing as she walked to the shocked team.

"Love, before we tell you anything about that swimsuit, we need to know something important," Luna remarked, scratching her chin while trying to ignore Carol's curves. "H-How old are you?"

Carol's answer was blunt: "17."

"You're Lori's age, and you already look three times hotter than her?!" Luan exclaimed, before switching to an intrigued tone. "I need to know, what's your secret to looking so sexy?"

The young adult blushed and looked away, feeling flustered at all the attention she was getting. "I... Just got really darn lucky, I guess." then, she pointed at the beach. "Okay, what are we waiting for? Let's get going to the beach!"

The sisters cheered and headed straight for the beach... Except for Lana, who clung to Carol's leg. "Hey, you're going to tell us your last name, right?" the girl inquired. "You did tell us Pingrey was only your second name, and I really want to know what's your last name!"

Carol felt a chill go up her spine, but she needed to stay strong, so she forced a smile and answered, "Uh, s-sure, I'll do that later."

Lana smiled and clung harder to Carol's leg as the teenager and Lincoln walked to the beach, though the boy could tell Carol was extremely nervous beneath her smile.

 _Meanwhile, back at the Santiago household..._

Tabby and Ronnie looked in awe Polly and Lucy in the dresses they picked for the double date: Polly's wasn't exactly a dress, it was more of a skort and a simple red t-shirt, while Lucy looked like she was the queen of funerals, with an elegant black dress worthy of a queen. However, both the goth and the tomboy sported wide frowns on their faces even as they were showered with praise.

"You two look amazing! Sure, Polly didn't change that much, but Lucy, if I didn't know you any better, I'd think you were a queen." Ronnie remarked as the quartet went downstairs. "Rocky and Rusty are definitely going to like your new looks!"

"Although, we might need to change something," Tabby looked closer, then put some attention on the girls' rather obvious frowns. "Yeah, those frowns, you have to get rid of them. Specially you Polly, I prefer it when you smile."

"We're still really angry about the fact you changed the date's location without telling us first," Lucy sternly stated.

"Yeah, that's a very Lynn move to pull!" Polly added, stomping the ground.

"Listen, girls, you have to keep things simple if you want this to work out," Ronnie explained as the quartet reached the kitchen. "If you, the

"Anyway, who wants a drink?" Tabby asked as she headed to the food table, wherein she tried to open a coke bottle. "Just let me get this bottle open and-"

"Forget the drink, where are the guys?" Polly asked before snatching away the coke bottle. "And give me that, you're way too weak to open this. But yeah, didn't Rusty and Rocky said they'd be here by this hour?"

Then, the doors were kicked open. "I think they just arrived," Ronnie remarked, getting Lucy and Polly to look at the door.

Who they saw right at the entrance were Rusty and Rocky, both boys wearing identical tuxedos and with their hairs tidied up a little. Suddenly, the coke bottle burst open and shot a large stream of coke as Lucy and Polly blushed at the sight, with Ronnie and Tabby getting the idea and leave the quartet alone, giggling as they bid farewell. Oh, and Tabby snatched the coke bottle too.

"Well, the guys are hot enough that the obvious coke bottle symbolism happened," Ronnie said as she and Tabby sat on a table close to the four kids. "This double date thing is going amazing already!"

"Yeah, but still, we should probably keep an eye on them," Tabby poured some coke on her and Ronnie's cups. "You know that's what we conviced the boys to have the date take place here in the first place. And plus, considering what Polly and probably Lucy went through, we need to make sure this night comes out as perfect as possible."

Ronnie turned to the quartet, and saw them just talking and seemingly having a good time. "Something tells me they don't need our help anymore."

 _Meanwhile, back at the beach..._

Carol sat alongside Lana under an umbrella as she watched Luna and Luan engage in a little water fight nearby. As for the remaining two kids, Lincoln and Lola, the latter hid behind a palm tree and watched Lana spending time with Carol with some subtle jealousy, just as the former approached her.

"Lola?" Lincoln inquired, startling his diva of a sister. "Why are you spying on Carol and Lana instead of having fun? And you should better be truthful with me if it helps you relieve some stress."

Lola, at first, though that beating the crap out of Lincoln would suffice. However she reconsidered because not only did she not have confidence she could hurt him that well with one arm, the potential anger she could meet from her siblings, and the fact that her counterpart did seem to like him, and that was a girl she DID NOT want to anger.

So, she came clean loudly enough to be heard, but quiet enough so Carol and Lana didn't hear her:

"I hate that Carol stole Lana from me, okay?"

Naturally, Lincoln was confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Lincoln, ever since the deal with our counterparts, Lana has been spending more and more time with Carol rather than me," the pageant diva turned back to see Carol and Lana telling each other stories. This sight made her grab the palmtree's trunk so hard, she actually managed to tear a part of it. "It's bad enough she'd rather spend time with a Lori copycat rather than me, but we lost our arms, we're in need of each other, and yet she'd still rather spend time with a stranger she met not too long ago instead of the twin sister she's lived with for years!"

"Well, have you tried talking with her about it?" Lincoln nonchalantly suggested.

Lola flinched, and this was enough to make Lincoln realize what this meant. "Lola, you can't just whine about Lana not paying attention if you don't even bother to try and get closer to her," the diva narrowed her eyes and put on a pouty face. "If you want Lana to spend more time with you, then you'll have to put your part in it too."

"But how am I going to get her to hear me out when she's next to thick leg, big chest udders Carol over there?!" the prima donna growled, pointing at the duo.

Lincoln walked towards Lana and Carol, but not before slapping Lola in the butt for being a brat. He then told something to Lana, who got up and walked to her twin sister as Lincoln sat next to Carol.

"Lincoln told me you needed to speak with me," Lana sternly stated as she reached Lola. "What do you want?"

Lola came out of the palmtree, then grabbed Lana's arm and walked across the shore with her. "Listen, Lana, I'm just getting kind of worried about us," the prima donna started, while the kid plumber shot a glare at her. "I mean, we lost our arms, and ever since then, I'm starting to question if I, and specially, can live our lives in the same way we used to-"

Suddenly, Lana released herself from Lola's grasp and stopped right on her tracks, followed by her twin.

"I'm fine, and so are you! Just because you lost your arm doesn't mean I have to babysit you!" Lana looked away as Lola gave her a look of genuine shock and distress. "Besides, as long as we never see those masked girls ever again, the chances that we'll get hurt are really slim."

Then, seemingly realizing something, Lana leaned closer to Lola's face and hissed, "But that's not the reason you wanted to talk to me, isn't it?"

"Uh..." Lola stuttered.

"Listen up, Lola, nobody came here in order to listen to your problems, we came here to relax after the horrors we've been through!" Lana shouted, causing the prima donna to fall to the ground in shock.

Lana herself went silent at the realization of what happened, but she continued soon afterwards: "Do you really think I'm not bothered by the fact I'm missing an arm?! I'm horrified! But I'd rather ignore the issue than confront it head-on after I just got it! Specially if the person I'm talking to is a spoiled little brat who most of the time only cares about her own problems!"

Lola backed away a little, and even held back tears. "I-I was just-"

"So if the only thing you want to waste people's time with your whining, then you better look for somebody else to annoy, because this is the first time that I can relax, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me!"

And so, Lana stomped her way back to Carol while Lola got up, dusted herself, and took a deep breath of defeat... Right before she heard a whip cracking sound and Lana's shriek.

So, of course, Lola ran to Lana's side and tried to help her. "Lana! Are you okay?!"

Lana did the most appropriate thing to do right now: Bitch slap her. "What's wrong with you?! Just because I refused to listen to your problems doesn't mean you can just pull my bottom and slap me with it!"

"What are you talking about?" the prima donna inquired, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't pull your underwear and slap you with it."

Then the girls heard a couple of pincers clashing, and they soon saw the source came from a crab, who looked at them as he clashed his pincers one more time. Then, remembering what Lucy told them earlier, the twins shrieked and jumped as far away from the creature as possible.

"It's the bottom crab Lucy told us about!" Lana exclaimed before pointing at the crab. "It's a lot smaller than I thought it would be, but still, what do we do now?!"

Lola glanced between her twin sister and the approaching crab, and then at her and Lana's remaining arms. Suddenly, she got an idea.

"It can't strike our bottoms if it can't see!"

Lana quickly realized what her sister meant, and turned to the "bottom crab" with a defiant look. "Bottom Crab! You chose the worst set of twins to attack, for your days of attacking bottoms are over!"

The crab, being a crab, just continued to approach the duo. Seeing the "bottom crab" wouldn't just give up, Lola and Lana formed a diamond shape with their arms, then promptly shouted:

"Diamond flash!"

This caused the diamond symbol to flash an intense light at the crab, who was not only blinded, but sent flying right into the sea. "I can't believe that actually worked!" Lola exclaimed in disbelief. "Was that supposed to work?"

"Who cares?!" Lana hugged Lola. "We beat the bottom crab!"

And as the twins celebrated their victory over the fiend, Lincoln and Carol watched them from afar with delight. "I'm glad those two are getting along now," Lincoln remarked. "They fight so often back home that most of us believe them getting along is as rare as a blue moon."

"Wow, that's really... Sad, actually," Carol remarked.

"So, random question: how do you feel about Lana hanging out with you so much?" Lincoln inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"I like it, she's very affectionate and kind, if a bit clingy," the teenager answered, gaining a somber tone as she added, "It's definitely better than when I'm with my mothers."

This immediately caught Lincoln's attention. " _Mothers?_ "

"Oh right! I did promise you guys that I'd tell you my real last name!" Carol and Lincoln got up. "Please do me a favour and tell everybody to reunite back here, okay? I'll go buy you guys some drinks."

The boy nodded and the duo separated. And a couple minutes later, the whole team had gathered at Carol's spot, each holding and drinking something.

"Greetings, everyone, I got an announcement to make," everybody turned to look at Carol. "As I told some of you before, Pingrey isn't my last name, it's my second name."

"Huh, I honestly thought Pingrey was her last name," Luna remarked, with Luan nodding in agreement. "So, what's your last name?"

Carol smiled and scanned her surroundings: Lincoln and the sisters were listening carefully, while everybody else just ignored them, exactly as she wanted. So, she clasped her hands, took a deep breath, then proudly proclaimed:

"My full name is Carol Pingrey Loud!"

Lincoln spat his drink right at Lola's face, with the diva too dumbfounded and slackjawed to actually noticed. The other sisters were shocked too, though at the very least there was also a hint of joy in their reactions, with Lana outright looking like she would cry a river of tears of joy.

"Wait a minute, your last name is Loud?!" Lola asked, earning a nod from Carol. "Hold on... If Carol's last name isn't Pingrey... But it's actually Loud... Wouldn't that mean-"

Lana exploded in joy and ran straight to Carol, upon which she leaped for her and shouted "She's related to us!" before glomping the teenager and causing her to fall backwards straight into the sand, upon which the young plumber constantly rubbed her cheek against hers.

"Hold on, she's related to us, that much I can get," Lola pointed out. "But what specific relation does she have? Are you supposed to be another sister, or are you a cousin of sorts?"

"Well, it's complicated, so, let's just say for now I'm another one of your sisters," Carol explained.

Lola took a sip of her drink. "Guess I know what to discuss with dad when he and mom get back."

"And I know what to discuss with Carol right now," Lincoln stated, before finishing his drink.

With that done, Lincoln walked to the affectionate scene between the blondes and said, "Carol, I need to talk with you about something." then he shot a look at Lana. "Alone."

Seeing from his look at the boy was serious, Carol and Lana separated and the teenager went with Lincoln to talk behind some palmtrees... Just as Lola went to hide there too. Then, she took a peak as the duo started to talk, starting with Lincoln:

"Your relationship with my family sounds... Confusing. You being my sister is unbelievable enough, but I can't believe that I'd have an eleventh sister and only find out about her now. Yes, mom and dad do keep a lot of secrets, but I don't think an eleventh sister could be one of them..."

However, Carol didn't answer right away. In fact, she looked rather nervous as she stared at the ground, only for Lincoln to return her to reality with a growl:

"Carol, I want to know what's the deal with you being my sister!"

Then, showing hesitation again, Carol confessed:

"I'm not really your sister."

Both Lincoln and Lola flinched, but the diva managed to compose herself and calm down to further listen:

"What do you mean you're not my sister?" Lincoln asked with worry.

Carol rubbed her shoulder and sighed, "I said I was your sister out of convenience; There's simply no way anybody would believe me if I told them the truth..."

"Which is?"

"...Do you promise not to tell anybody? The point of this beach trip was to calm everybody after yesterday's tense events, and I don't want to freak anybody out."

"Sure, I'll keep it between us."

"... I'm Lori and Leni's daughter."

Chills went up Lola and Lincoln's spines, though the boy was the only one to react, for obvious reason. "D-Daughter?!"

"Don't say it out loud!" Carol scolded in a whispering tone, looking to her left and right. "Yes, I'm their daughter, but the full's story way too complicated, and again, the point of this trip is to relax, so please keep this a secret, okay?"

The boy shivered and remained silent as he pondered what to do next. Not that it was long, since he did decide to keep the revelation a secret: He did it for Lucy, why wouldn't he do it for Carol, who's so far been a helpful friend so far? She even took them to the beach!

But he did give her a stern answer, "You better have a good explanation for this, Carol."

With that said, Lincoln went back to his sisters, leaving behind Lola to see Carol sulk and say:

"I hope so too."

 _Meanwhile, back at the Santiago household..._

The two dates had decided to separate: Polly and Rusty were playing a videogame on the living room, while Lucy and Rocky were checking out the backyard in order to find something macabre, like dead animals, some sort of aftermath of a massive event, or even worse, a stache of naughty material! Ronnie Anne and Tabby were closely watching the couples as well, they didn't want anything to go wrong, after all.

But everybody was happy, that was the most important thing...

Then, both boys asked to their respective dates:

"So, why did you invite me on a double date?"

Seeing as nothing could ruin their date right now, Polly and Lucy took a deep breath and revealed the truth to their boyfriends, starting with Polly:

"We really needed some relieve after the nightmare that we've been through these past few days. I mean, the person who I thought was my friend revealed she was just using me for her own selfish desires."

And then Lucy, who grabbed Rocky's hand and sighed.

"And I lost a very good friend too, and it was all my fault," Lucy looked at the ground and tried to hold back her tears, "We both felt terrible, and we needed something, anything that could make us cheer us up again."

Then back to Polly, who scratched the back of her head and looked away. "So, she called Ronnie Anne, and then spoke with me about it. We shared the same pain, the same devastation, so I thought we needed a good relief too."

Then they finished in unison:

"So we called you two to discuss this double date, and here we are now."

The girls took a deep breath, then looked away before adding,

"Sorry we didn't tell you this before."

However, instead of being angry or disappointed at the fact the girls basically used them to cheer themselves up, Rocky and Rusty did seem to understand. If only because Ronnie and Tabby gestured an explanation to them from afar. So, they put a hand on their girl's shoulder and said,

"It's okay."

Polly and Lucy flinched, they honestly expected the boys to growl or scold them for using them like that. Then again, that would render the entire point of the double date pointless.

Then, they said in unison:

"We made you happy, and that's all that matters."

"Thank you, Rocky."

"Thank you, Rusty."

And, without hesitation, the boys returned the hug.

"Anytime, girl, anytime."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"It says that you're a pathetic, useless maggot."

Lynn recognized the voice as her counterpart's and turned around to see her standing nearby, arms folded and with a smug smirk. This sight made the athlete put her food down and hug Lily in fear.

"L-Leave me alone, other me!" the athlete shouted, trying to hide her fear beneath a tough facade. "I-I've suffered anough of your abuse, and I won't let you hurt me anymore!"

Proto-Lynn just laughed. "You really think I'm here to torment you? I'm satisfied with it... For now, at least. No, I came here to let you know something important."

"Which is?" Lynn raised an eyebrow.

Proto-Lynn's smirk became wider:

"Lisa's hiding more secrets than you think."


	27. A Tale of Two Lynns

**So, l made a mistake: I was supposed to post the intervention chapter, but posted chapter 27 instead. So, to fix everything, here's a chapter with a flashback to the actual intervention! And to further compensate, I'm posting this today! However, since it's a shorter, comprised version of it, here are some more details from that chapter that were lost:**

 **Carol teaches the team about the technique that gave Luan an orange aura. It's the Savinoken, developed by Lincoln himself apparently (take a guess when), but using it for too long can greatly deplete stamina and leave the user vulnerable.**

 **Leni went to tell Lucy about Haiku.**

 **Tabby and Ronnie comforted Polly about the whole thing.**

 **Carol beat the everloving shit out of Lynn for what she said.**

 **Margo's revealed to be a part of the Lincolnists.**

 **Clyde goes to visit Haiku, but finds out she's dead. Okay, this was going to come here, but let's just get this out of the way and say he was supposed to see her back then.**

 **Not that many of these details are important. Now, onto the chapter!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the team left to relax at the beach, while Lucy and Polly went on a double date with Rocky and Rusty Spokes, to help the latter deal with the fallout from the intervention.**

 **So, nothing of importance, basically.**

 **What will happen now? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: Memories Filled With Regret! A Secret Hidden Underground?!**

* * *

At the original reality, in Proto Luan's domain, Maggie hit the ground and caught her breath as the prototype comedian walked to her and forced her to stand up. The emo looked surprisingly damaged, with her nose slightly bleeding from both nostrils and with several bruises all over her face, arms, and legs.

"Oh wow, looks like our little comedy act gave you some damage," Proto Luan mockingly said, grabbing and pulling Maggie closer using her hair. "Emo-tional damage."

Upon hearing the pun, Maggie flinched and raised an eyebrow. "W-What did you say?"

Proto Luan pulled the emo into a face-to-face position and repeated:

"Emo-tional."

With that said, the prototype joker pushed Maggie away and folded her arms behind her back as she barked:

"Anyway, I'm not someone who plays with toys that are about to break, so go to Lisa's domain and ask her to fix you up."

Then, she added with a smirk:

"Oh, and bring Lindsey with you too. Seeing how she's being dealt with Lynn, she's desperately going to need to be fixed too. Off you go now!"

Maggie immediately nodded, not wanting to anger Luan's counterpart, and immediately flew to Proto Lynn's domain... Or at least tried. After all, it's not like she had any idea of how to get to any domains in the first place. Luckily, after flying around aimlessly for a while, or what felt like a while anyway, the emo teen finally reached the discount football field that was Proto-Lynn's domain.

However, the only person she could find was the diva copycat that was Lindsey, sitting and shivering in the middle of the field. "Lindsey?" Maggie asked as she approached the diva. "Where's Lynn?"

Lindsey felt a chill go up her spin upon hearing Proto-Lynn's name. "I-I-I don't know, and honestly, I'd rather not know," the prima donna answered, shivering harder than before. "Normally, when I wake up, the first thing I'm forced to do is go to the field and wait for Lynn to come and "discipline" me or something, but she never appeared. I've been waiting her here since then, since I don't want to summon her wrath."

"Well, I'm going to Lisa's domain in order to be healed," the emo teen took a deep breath. "Would you like to come with me? You know, just in case?"

Normally, Lindsey would've probably said no. After all, she had been in the original reality long enough to know that if there's one thing she had to make sure never happened, was to inquire the wrath of any of the proto sisters. But then again, Proto Lynn wasn't around... Eventually, she just nodded and followed Maggie to the domain of the mad scientist.

Once they got there, Maggie and Lindsey spotted Proto Lisa watching as a red portal opened, and Proto Lynn jumped out of it, shortly before it closed itself out of existence. "So, did you find out anything interesting?" the prototype scientist asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My counterpart is basically stuck all alone in the house. Yeah, she does have your and Lily's counterpart there too, but for all intents and purposes, she's alone." Proto Lynn cracked her knuckles. "I'm gonna go get ready for some further demoralization."

With that said, Proto Lynn flew back to her domain as Maggie and Lindsey came out of hiding... And Proto Lisa stated, "How much did you see and hear?"

"The whole thing!" Maggie stated as Lindsey hid behind her and the proto-scientist walked to the duo. "You can travel between dimensions at will?!"

"To be more specific, our divine ties to the lord and savior," Maggie just raised an eyebrow in confusion, while Lindsey looked utterly lost. "In other words, that a pair of primitive skanks like you should understand, yes, my sisters and I do have the capacity to travel between dimensions."

Lindsey briefly came out of her hiding spot and pointed something out, "Then why would you stay in this messed up dimension or whatever, if you can just go to the world I used to live and, I don't know, exist there!"

A single glare from Proto Lisa sent her back into hiding. "I assumed Lucy explained it to the girl in front of you, who would've let you know too, since it's for everyone's best interests that you develop, at the very least, some sort of companionship."

Maggie and Lindsey exchanged looks, then promptly looked away from the other. Proto Lisa could only roll her eyes at the interaction.

"But just to give you a quick explanation: We can't exist alongside our counterparts in the new reality, or "canon world," if you will," the proto-prodigy adjusted her glasses. "Most of us are stuck here thanks to the fact that most of the chains of reality are still alive!"

The last part immediately caught the duo's attention. "Chains of reality?"

"The counterparts of both me and my sisters, basically," Proto Lisa turned around and folded her arms behind her back. "As long as they live, we're forever stuck in what used to be our world. We get some limited time in the new reality if their symbols are ripped off or otherwise destroyed, but we're still not completely freed from our imprisonment."

"Okay, then why does the jock get to teleport freely?" Maggie pointed out, putting her hands on her hips. "And why does princess brat over here fears her so much?"

"She's an utter, romerseless sadistic monster!" Lindsey whined, earning an eye roll from the emo. "She broke my bones, she mocked my decisions in life, she even put me on an existential crisis!"

"I didn't see her doing any of those things before," Maggie crouched down and shot a glare at Lindsey. "Have you ever heard of show, don't tell?"

"Well, have _you_ heard of "Shut up, don't tempt"? Because that's what exactly what you should do right now if you don't want to regret it later," Proto-Lisa pointed out, causing Lindsey to blow a raspberry at the emo. "Besides, Lynn had a job: She went to the new reality in order to find out if her counterpart was alone. Now that that's done, she's going to project herself in the dimension in order to help me accomplish another step of my plan."

"Which is?" Maggie inquired.

"My plan."

Then Lindsey. "Which is?"

"My plan."

Then the two at the same time. "Which is?!"

"My plan!"

"Which is?!"

"My plan!"

"Which is?!"

"Something I'm never going to tell you!"

And once the prototype scientist caught her breath, she threw a control remote at Maggie and hissed, "Here, this is a copy of the control remote that activates the interdimensional television, use it to see how Lynn's doing! Now leave me alone before you drive me into the mad part of mad scientist!"

The prototype genius stomped her way back to her domain as Maggie and Lindsey summoned the artifact and turned it on, showcasing an image of Lynn-the canon one-sitting at the couch with Lily by her side. The baby was tilting her head to the tune being played in the television, while Lynn was pretty much sulking as she ate her breakfast.

And who could blame her? The memory of the intervention was still fresh in her mind...

 _Intervention Flashback..._

The first thing she remembered, of course, just had to be the last words she told to Polly Pain:

"Margo's kind, considerate, a pretty good and loyal friend, and she's not infamous for making people throw up or hit them with her butt. Simply put, Margo's more like somebody Lincoln would like to date, but since she was busy at the moment, I had to compromise and use you instead."

Use.

That was the word she used.

And of course, as she remembered Polly Pain's disraught look, and how she started to shed tears, she begun remembering what she said:

"You're too self-centered."

"You're making a big deal over nothing!"

"She only likes roller skating, and no other sports! Can you believe it?!"

Culminating in her remembering Polly practically giving her a slap in the face, followed by Carol brutally beating her up for what she said. She couldn't remember anything she said-after all, the pain was a bit easier to remember, but it was clear she was pissed.

And in the final moments of the flashback, Lynn remembered her siblings-Except for Lincoln and Lisa-beating her up and showing their disappointment in her. Which probably didn't happen, but it was how she remembered it anyway.

 _Back in the present..._

"Well, these past few days have been a torment: My counterpart beat the stuffing out of me, my relationship with Polly is ruined, and most of my siblings can't stand to be nearby me," the athlete somberly remarked, glancing at her food before turning to her baby sister. "At least you still like me, right?"

Lily blew a raspberry in the air and Lynn laughed, though it was rather evident there was a hint of sadness in her giggles. "Heh, the only member of my family that holds nothing against me is a baby who's not sentient enough to know what's going on." and as her laughter continued, it soon devolved into crying with a forced smile. "What does that say about me?"

"It says that you're a pathetic, useless maggot."

Lynn recognized the voice as her counterpart's and turned around to see her standing nearby, arms folded and with a smug smirk. This sight made the athlete put her food down and hug Lily in fear.

"L-Leave me alone, other me!" the athlete shouted, trying to hide her fear beneath a tough facade. "I-I've suffered anough of your abuse, and I won't let you hurt me anymore!"

Proto-Lynn just laughed. "You really think I'm here to torment you? I'm satisfied with it... For now, at least. No, I came here to let you know something important."

"Which is?" Lynn raised an eyebrow.

Proto-Lynn's smirk became wider:

"Lisa's hiding more secrets than you think."

Soon afterwards, the two Lynns found watched Lisa looking at the tree on the backyard. Once she looked around to verify nobody was watching her, she knocked the trunk three times, and this caused an elevator to open in the trunk, and Lisa to go inside, upon which it closed its doors and went down.

"What the...?" Lynn blurted in confusion.

Then, just before Lynn could fully register what happened, her counterpart grabbed the back of her head, jumped, and sent them both plummeting to the ground nearby... Just as a baby-like shadowy figure watched them go down. Eventually, the duo hit a solid metal floor, and some whining from a broken nose later, Lynn got up and opened her eyes to see the pair were now inside an underground laboratory.

"Wow, Lisa wasn't joking when she said she had an underground laboratory," Lynn remarked before she noticed her counterpart walking deeper into the place. "Why did you take me here? Why are we even here?"

"Heh, follow me," Proto Lynn mockingly, yet also sternly, ordered.

Lynn obliged and followed her counterpart deeper until the two found themselves in a nearly empty, spacious dead end of the room, with Lisa working on something. And in the background was the thing she was working on, the money shot: A giant robot, sharing a physical appearance identical to the Royal Woodroid 5000.

And then the prodigy noticed the duo. "Oh my, Lynn, what a..." but she quickly dropped the friendly facade. "I'm not even going to lie, I'm not happy to see you here, in the slightest."

The jock took a step back in disbelief. "Lisa, what the heck is... this?!"

"This, my dear intellectual inferior, is nothing more nor less than the Royal Woodroid 5000!" the mad scientist proclaimed as the light reflected against the giant robot's crest. "The machine that will forever change the Royal Woods' population of the Loud family, from random, obnoxious nobodies, to random, obnoxious heroes!"

"W-What are you talking about?! How is this giant... Thing going to make everybody think our family are heroes?!" Lynn glanced at the giant robot again, this time in sheer confusion. "How did you even manage to build this thing? Didn't your colleagues or whatever reject the design?!"

"Just because my colleagues rejected my design doesn't mean I'm not going to work on it," Lisa argued as she adjusted her glasses. "I mean, I may need to discuss things with adults in order to have them be approved, but I'm still independent enough to do things on my own! Besides, I've been able to gather quite a lot of resources for this beauty thanks to my assistant."

Lisa snapped her fingers, and Lily crawled into the laboratory, holding large piece of lightweight metal on her mouth. Lisa promptly took the piece, and brushed Lily's hair.

"I don't know how she keeps finding this, but It's not like I'm complaining," Lisa stated before installing the piece of metal into the giant robot's thigh. "Lily's saved me a lot of trouble building this thing by gathering the necessary materials all on her own!"

"Are you seriously telling me that all this time, you were secretly building a giant robot with stuff Lily found, despite how people more experienced at robot building than you rejected the idea!?" Lynn stomped the ground. "You're crazy!"

"The only thing that's crazy is that you're against this," Lisa formed a pair of fists. "Why can't you be happy? This'll change our family's reputation for the better! We'll no longer be strangers, we'll be heroes! Mostly me, since I built it, but still... Why don't you try being a bit more happy about it?"

"How can I be happy about the fact that you've essentially built a massive machine in a desperate attempt to change peoples' perception on our family!" the jock stomped the ground while her counterpart nodded in agreement nearby, "And don't take this as me being against your plan, but I don't think this is the best idea!"

"That sounds exactly like you being against my plan," the genius prodigy stated, narrowing her eyes. "Which, being you, I don't find the contradiction all that surprising."

"There has to be another, less complicated way to do this, Lisa."

"But there isn't." Lisa narrowed her eyes even further. "And if you won't accept it, then I must take you out."

The prodigy snapped her fingers, and a kid-sized, about Clyde's size actually, masked guard came out of nowhere and restrained Lynn by holding her tightly in the arm. Normally, the jock would have no problem freeing herself, but the guard had a really tight grip.

Not that this stopped the athlete from trying to free herself. "Lisa, or you stop this thing right now, or I'll-"

"Or else you'll do what, Lynn? What can you do?!" the genius prodigy hissed in return, and the ensuing silence from the jock basically spoke for itself. "In case you haven't noticed, you're now a pariah: Most of us don't like, though I didn't like you since the beginning, and if I don't make sure the Royal Woodroid 5000 succeeds, our family will become full of people like you!"

"A family full of athletes?" Lynn meakly guessed.

"A family full of selfish people! Ignorant assholes! And self-centered douchebags! The kind of character that the people of Royal Woods despise!" the prodigy spat, right in front of her sister's face. "But I will make sure everybody's opinion of our family changes! And even if you do tell our siblings, they won't listen to you. They hate you, and want nothing to do witht you, get it?!"

" _Well shit, this bitch knows how to sting,_ " Proto-Lynn thought, her amused smile turning into an annoyed frown. " _Even then, her technique is way too verbal._ "

"And now, get out of my sight!" Lisa pointed at the door. "I already wasted enough of my breath talking to this gluteus maximus."

And as the athlete was taken back to the house, Proto-Lynn followed her, but not before shooting a glare at Lisa, who visibly flinched. Then she smiled and said:

"Don't get too cocky, kid. The only reason your words even got through her thick skull is because I softened her up for you. Trust me, if you had tried to say those words when she was mentally healthy, she probably would've shattered you glasses, and stabbed your eyes with the pieces."

Suddenly, Proto-Lynn teleported right in front of the prodigy and hissed:

"And I'll be more than happy to do _exactly that_ if you get in my way."

Then, chuckling like a maniac, Proto-Lynn just... Vanished into thin air as Lisa took a deep breath and, shortly afterwards, disregarded the promise. After all, she had better things to do than worry about potential threats. And once the duo were out of the lab, they walked back inside and Lynn sat down at the kitchen table.

"Well, that was a revelation I wasn't expecting," the athlete said with a tired tone. "I can't believe Lisa was building a giant robot this entire time, and nobody had any idea of it. Not even me..."

"Yeah, I mean, just think about it: You've lived with these people for years, yet there's so little you know about them," Proto Lynn mockingly pointed out. "Lori has ulterior motives for dating Bobby, Leni is smarter than she seems, Luna feels attraction to both guys and girls, Luan tries too hard to be funny out of insecurity and guilt-!"

"Actually, the last one is so blatantly obvious, It's not even funny," Lynn pointed out.

Proto Lynn rolled her eyes. "Well, it is Luan, what else did we expect?"

And as the Lynns laughed out loud, the canon Lynn suddenly felt a sharp pain hit the back of her head, preluded by a *CLANK* sound. Then, she dropped on the ground as her prototype counterparts gave her a look and finished:

"Anyway, you know much less than you should. And these two ladies here are going to make sure you pay for it."

Then, Lynn fell unconscious...

 _Sometime later, at night..._

The Loud siblings entered the house and bid farewell to Carol before closing the door. Once there, the first thing they saw was Lily cheerfully playing with some toys, and even sucking a ball, but no Lynn or Lisa in sight.

"Well, that was a good day at the beach," Lola remarked before swaying her hair to her right. "Could've been better, thought."

"It would've been better if you hadn't taken Carol's bikini top while she was in front of me!" Lana, who had her nostrils covered with bloodied cotton, complained. "I was the first in line to see her big chest balls bounce right in my face!"

"Yeah, and you also stole the lower half of my swimsuit!" Luna complained, putting her hands on her hips.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to wear that swimsuit despite lacking anything that could be emphasized with it," the prima donna argued, getting glares from her sisters. "And besides, what matters most is that we all had our fun, far away from the one whose name I don't wanna mention."

And as all the sisters nodded in agreement-though Luna was a bit hesitant at first-Lincoln walked to Lily, took off the toy she was sucking and then put her back on the floor before he took another quick look around.

"Hello? Lynn!" he called at the top of his lungs, but he got no response. "Lynn, are you here?!"

"Not that we're in the mood to see you right now!" Lola loudly added, earning herself a jab in the shoulder from her rocker sister. "What? I'm just honestly saying what everybody's thinking!"

Lincoln immediately went to the kitchen, since that's where he last saw the jock, and everybody followed him. Once there, though, the only thing they found was a note.

"What's this?" the boy grabbed the note and read it out loud:

"Dear family, I've come to realize that right now, after the things I revealed during the intervention, staying withing reach of people who absolutely hate me isn't a good idea. So, Lori and Leni decided to let me stay with them on a house they got far away from here, since they too don't think it's a good idea all three of us stay too close to you. P.S: Lori and Leni left Lincoln some grape juice, they made some for dinner and saved what was left for Lincoln."

"Well, she realized her mistakes for once, I'll give her that," Luna remarked, crossing her arms. "It's still going to take a long time before we'll be willing to forgive her, though."

"Yeah, you just don't use your best friend to try and get some bragging rights!" Luan added, surprisingly angrier than usual.

Lincoln promptly put the note on the table and went to the fridge. "But still, it's a bit weird she'd just decide to go live with Lori and Leni without telling us first, don't you think?"

"Hey, we all need to take a breather: We got the beach, now we got Lynn going away while things calm down," Luna quickly explained, with her sisters nodding in agreement. "Our counterparts could attack any time, so we might as well enjoy the little breathers we got while we can. Anyway, enjoy your drink, I'll spend some time with Lily, and everybody else can go take a bath or whatever."

The sisters nodded and separated, with Luna staying downstairs while the rest went upstairs and Lincoln took out the drink from the fridge. Oddly enough, despite the note saying it was grape juice, the color was more lavender than any purple the guy knew about. Nevertheless, he drank the juice, and found it had both a great taste and a good smell.

It kinda smelled like flowers, actually...

 _Meanwhile, back at the original reality..._

Proto Lisa watched Lori and Leni take Lynn to their house in the interdimensional television when Proto Luna teleported into her domain, sporting a stern look. "Okay, Lisa, what do you want?" she asked, catching the proto-prodigy's attention. "I'm a very busy woman, and I have literally a million better things to do than waste my time with you."

"I get the feeling we're missing someone, and I'm getting really worried," Proto Lisa turned around, sporting a smug smile. "How about we make a quick count?"

Proto Luna rolled her eyes, then whistled as loudly as she could. Upon hearing this, most of the other proto sisters immediately arrived and formed a line.

"Lisa, Lola, Lana, Lynn, Luan, me," then a pair of coughs were heard, and everybody looked up to see Proto Lori and Proto Leni just hanging around. "Oh, and high sister Lori and Leni too."

Then she turned back to Proto Lisa. "Is that everyone?"

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Proto Lisa pointed out, her smile growing wider.

"Yeah! You're forgetting about me!" Proto Lucy complained as she literally crash landed into the domain.

"Sorry, Lucy, it's just that you're so quiet in general," Proto Luna counter her siblings, up to 9, including herself. "Okay, is that everyone?"

"You're still forgetting someone," Proto-Lisa stated, her smile growing even wider. "Hear the void. Notice something odd?"

Everybody-minus Proto Lisa-decided to hear the background... But they heard nothing. There wasn't even any static, the original reality was filled with nothing but silence.

"Lily's supposed to be laughing at this hour," Proto Luna remarked in distress.

Then, with an ear-to-ear grin, Proto Lisa chuckled, catching the furious attention of her sisters.

"Lisa, what did you do to Lily?" the prototype rockstar asked, with a blatant showcase of hostility in her tone.

The prototype scientist folded her arms behind her back and changed the interdimensional television's channel before answering:

"Well, that's an interesting story..."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"So, you're awake..."

Lynn tried to wave hello, but she grabbed her head in pain as the headache reacted, only to find out soon afterwards her fingers were partially drenched in blood.

"Yeah, sorry about the bleeding headache, I guess I hit you a bit harder than I should have," Lori remarked, only for her eyes to turn seafoam green as she added, "You're lucky I didn't hit you harder, otherwise, your head may have exploded."

"What?!" the athlete exclaimed in horror.

Leni shot a glare at "Lori," who soon turned back to normal as the ditzy teenager went to her athletic sibling and healed her with her healthy hand. It took a while, but eventually, Lynn's headache was completely gone, and she stopped bleeding altogether. The blood on the side of her head and fingers didn't magically vanish, though.

"I'll go prepare the bath to clean her up," Lori stated. "Leni, stay here and keep her company."

The ditz nodded and waited until Lori had left before she turned back to Lynn and quipped, "Geez, she's such a pain sometimes, wouldn't you agree?"


	28. Character Arcs (News Update)

Okay, I'm going to replace what was originally here with something else, 'cause I think there's no point leaving it here. So, let's keep up with the date of character arcs.

If you need to know, Character Arcs are a specific, concentrated story arc centered on the growth of a character. Think of it like a side-story arc of sorts. And here they are:

 **Lincoln - Go from mortal to god and try to become worthy of the title while regaining control of his powers.**

 **Lynn - Face the consequences of her "victory at all costs" mentality and become a bit less abrasive.**

 **Luan - Go from being a comedian who tries too hard to be funny, to actually be funny, and be more empathetic.**

 **Luna - See past the image she's set up for Mick Swagger, and realize how not everything is as it seems at first glance.**

 **Lucy - Grow more confident and reveal her true self.**

 **Lana - Like Luna, learn that not everything is what it seems, and to not trust so blindly.**

 **Lola - Change from the little pageant diva image she's cultivated for so long, so she doesn't lose the people who matter to her.**

 **Lisa - Realize how her focus on science has done more harm than good, and her gradual corruption.**

 **Clyde - Prove that just 'cause he's all brain and no brawn, doesn't mean he's cannon fodder.**

 **Ronnie Anne - Prove she's no longer the bully she once was, and not stay at the sidelines anymore.**

And that's about it. See ya.


	29. Flashbacks and pets (News update)

So, remember in the earlier chapters how there were flashbacks of the Louds' prototype life-or whatever that was? You're probably wondering what happened to them.

Simply put, it was a combination of my forgetfulness and there not being any specific, appropriate place to put them that's responsible for their disappearance.

But don't worry, they'll be back eventually.

As for the pets? They're there, but they don't do anything, and I got enough main characters to deal with, so they're not joining the spotlight anytime soon.


	30. Teasers (News Update)

No, don't worry, I'm not immediately returning to Chains of Reality after a couple days, I'm gonna need more than that. I'm just here to give you some teasers for what's to come. As in, for the next pair of story chapters.

After all, you beautiful people deserve something after my... Little panic attack, which is covered in the last two chapters. Which I will not take out, since it lets me return to the correct numbering, after flubbing it up with chapter 26's incident. Besides, It's Sunday, I'm not gonna be doing anything other than relax-and most of you will probably do the same-so hey, a little pair of teasers won't hurt anybody, right?

So, the first teaser is in the last story chapter, " **A Tale of Two Lynns** ," which I updated yesterday. The reason I do this is that, with the new story structure I'm going for, the previous preview I made for it doesn't really apply anymore. Not that Ronnie won't try to protect Lincoln later in the story, but the reason and context has changed, so the preview has to change too. So check that out, then tell me what you think.

Now, the second teaser is one for **chapter 32**. Not much to say about it, but it should speak for itself:

* * *

"Huh, that sounds like something I would do," Luan sighed. "Still, t-that doesn't really give Maggie the excuse to kill her off!"

"What part of what I just said sounded like I was trying to justify what Maggie did?" Tabby pointed out, surprising the comedian. "I may have a soft spot for her, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to ignore it when she does something truly awful. Still, I did warn Giggles, she refused to hear me, and she paid for it. I hate to admit it, but that's fact."

Soon afterwards, she turned to Sam, who flinched as the little rock star said, "Besides, there's a much more important matter to discuss, something a bit more... Suspicious."

Then, with a stern glare, she asked, "What were you doing here, Sam?"

* * *

And with that done, I take my leave. See you in... I don't even know when.


	31. Two Sides of the Same Coin

**Okay, I think that's about enough hiatus for now. Might as well get this back on track, am I right?**

 **Now, before we begin, I think it's only fair that I let you guys know how I'm going to try-TRY-making this story less of a boggling mess. As you probably could've guessed by now, there are a lot of plot elements in this fic:**

 **The Proto-Sisters**

 **Lincoln's growth**

 **Lincolnism**

 **The** **Royal Woods Defense Forces**

 **The Swagger's Issues**

 **Maggie and Lindsey**

 **The Three Gates  
**

 **And sadly enough, those may not be the only ones in this fic. So, in order to try not to overwhelm myself-or anybody for that matter-I'm only focusing on two plots per chapter, unless it's a breather one. In this chapter, for example, I'm gonna focus on Lynn in her new home, and Lucy having a weird dream after the events of last arc.  
**

 **I know this most likely means that the fic's pacing might be slowed down, but that's honestly the only way I can think of that won't make me have a panic attack that may make me decide to get rid of this story.**

 **Also, we got a brand new cover art, made by me! So if you were expecting something epic, sorry to disappoint you. XD**

 **And before any of you ask, those dots around Lincoln and the chains are supposed to be dimensions. Yeah, have fun figuring that out.**

 **So, with that out of the way, let's get going.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lynn discovered, with the help of her counterpart, what Lisa was doing: She was creating a replica of her Royal Woodroid 5000 idea in her underground laboratory! However, when Lynn tried to get her to stop, she was taken out and kidnapped by Lori and Leni!**

 **And to top it all off, Lincoln drank a lavender liquid just as Proto-Lily suddenly went missing in the original reality!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Visions of the Tarot! Outside the Comfort Zone! Lynn and Lucy's Predicament!**

* * *

 _The Loud House, Lucy and Lynn's bedroom..._

Luan and Lucy, the latter holding the former's hand tightly, went into the goth and jock's bedroom, which-without Lynn's presence-felt a lot less... Energetic than usual. This would be fine for the goth, if only she hadn't gone through quite the emotional, physical, and psychological trauma from the "Vine" fiasco.

Now, it just felt unnerving.

"Okay, Lucy, here we are," Luan said with a reassuring tone as she took Lucy to her bed. And as she put her down, she said, "Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you for tonight? Or maybe be your eyes for a little longer?"

"No, after everything that happened, I want to be alone for tonight," Lucy sighed. "And also, you don't need to do the "be my eyes" thing, I think I've managed to learn how to see, even without my eyes."

The comedian-of course-didn't believe the emotionless girl's claim, so she grabbed her hand and. Her butt, to be precise. "Now tell me, what are you touching?"

The goth squeezed the object-making the comedian flinch a little-and hummed before answering, "Your stomach, right?"

"Yeah, maybe you should go see Carol about it, maybe she can help you learn how to deal with that issue for real," Luan released Lucy's hand and brushed her hair. "Now, I'll go sleep, I have to do something important-"

Suddenly, Lucy blurted, "Can I come with you?"

The comedian flinched, but she regained her composure quickly enough. "I-I didn't even tell you what I was doing," the comedian twiddled her fingers. "And besides, I was seriously think it would be better if you didn't come with me."

"I don't care, if it can help me take my mind off this whole fiasco, then I want to come with you."

Luan could see her younger sister really wanted to come with her. And why wouldn't she? After all, being sentient comic relief, maybe she could do the impossible and cheer up Lucy.

That or hug her. Hugging her could probably help too. "Fine, if you're so interested, we'll go together tomorrow,"

Luan kissed Lucy's forehead and tucked her in. "Now, goodnight, sis."

With that said, Luan left the room and the blind poet took a deep breath. She tried to close her eyelids-since she didn't have eyes anymore-and tried to fall asleep...

 _Meanwhile, at Lori and Leni's cabin..._

Lynn slowly woke up-with a rather big headache as well-and took a look at her surroundings with her blurry vision. As she did that, she could some people from afar. First, she heard a voice similar to Lori say:

"There's literally simply no way I'm accepting that deal!"

Then a voice like Leni respond:

"Lori, it's the least we can do! We practically kidnapped her, it's only fair we let her live here until things calm down!"

Finally, the jock's blurry vision cleared up to let her see she was in the middle of a living room, inside a wooden cabin. She was right on top of a green carpet, and on her surroundings were two television sets, a medium size one and a widescreen right next to it, and a couple windows, showing it was nighttime. And as she aimlessly saw her surroundings, she continued to hear the conversation, first the Lori voice, then the Leni voice, and so on and so forth:

"Taking her away from the house was just common sense at that point, but letting her live here and treat her like she was our responsibility is way too much!"

"But she is our responsibility now, Lori! She became such the instant we practically kidnapped her!"

"You know what happened last time we housed a kid!"

"Yeah, but Carol came out a healthy girl, even with your rough attitude towards her!"

"Are you not going to shut up until I accept to this stupid deal?!"

"Finally something gets through your thick skull!"

"Ugh... Fine, but I'm not putting a mustache or pulling a daddy attitude like I did with Carol!"

"I'm not asking for you to do that! And besides, the mustache would look so much better on me!"

"Whatever, let's just go see if she's awake yet!"

And so, Lynn took several deep breaths to try and calm down as she heard Lori and Leni come towards, and eventually reach her, giving her a calm, reassuring look from Leni, but a stern, dominant look from Lori, who said:

"So, you're awake..."

Lynn tried to wave hello, but she grabbed her head in pain as the headache reacted, only to find out soon afterwards her fingers were partially drenched in blood.

"Yeah, sorry about the bleeding headache, I guess I hit you a bit harder than I should have," Lori remarked, only for her eyes to turn seafoam green as she added, "You're lucky I didn't hit you harder, otherwise, your head may have exploded."

"What?!" the athlete exclaimed in horror.

Leni shot a glare at "Lori," who soon turned back to normal as the ditzy teenager went to her athletic sibling and healed her with her healthy hand. It took a while, but eventually, Lynn's headache was completely gone, and she stopped bleeding altogether. The blood on the side of her head and fingers didn't magically vanish, though.

"I'll go prepare the bath to clean her up," Lori stated. "Leni, go to the kitchen and make us something for dinner, I'm pretty sure Lynn must be starving right now."

The ditz nodded and waited until Lori had left before she turned back to Lynn and quipped, "Geez, she's such a pain sometimes, wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-Yeah... I guess so?" Lynn grabbed her head. "What happened? All I remember is that I discovered Lisa was creating a giant robot underneath the house, and then... It all goes blank."

"Well, you see, Lori and I kidna-" Leni paused, realizing she almost spilled the beans. "We discovered about how things got heated back home, and decided that it was for the best that you lived elsewhere until things had calmed down. So, we brought you here after your counterpart knocked you out."

"But Lori just said she was sorry she hit me," the athlete quickly pointed out.

"W-Well, you see, she was trying to hit your counterpart, but since you two look so alike from certain angles, she hit you instead," the ditz explained, only to look around as she nervously added, "T-That sounds like a decent explanation, right?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow as she thought about it for a second, only for the part about "mistaking you for your counterpart" to send a chill up her spine. "That actually sounds like something to take into consideration..." she said as the blonde helped her get up. "When I get back, I need to tell everybody about that, after telling them about Lisa's giant robot project, of course."

"That's something you can focus on later," Leni stated as she helped the athlete walk towards a chair. "For now, let's relax while Lori prepares the bath, okay?"

Leni put Lynn on the chair, then said "After all, too much stress could end up being bad for your head" before kissing her forehead and leaving. With that done, Lynn watched her leave to the kitchen, with slight caution. There was simply something about how Lori and Leni took her in that felt... Suspicious...

 _Meanwhile, with Lucy..._

The goth woke up and found herself in a white, vast... Void of sorts. Yeah, she couldn't see in the first place, but she didn't need to: She could simply feel the void was pretty much that, a void.

"Where... Am I?" Lucy took a couple steps cautiously. "H-Hello? Is anybody here?"

The goth got no response. And for the most part, she had absolutely no idea where she was even going, until an aura suddenly popped into existence. A red aura, to be exact.

"An aura? I can sense auras now?" Lucy pondered as she walked to the red aura. "I need to ask Luna about this later. Or Lisa... Nah, better Luna, she probably has more experience with this."

Once she got close enough, the aura gained a more comprehensible shape: It was Lynn, lifting a pair of weights with great difficulty... And upside down. Just as Lucy wondered why that was the case, though, "Lynn" was surrounded by a white border, and the number "VIII" on the top border.

And when this was seemingly not enough, a deck of cards fell on top of Lucy, causing a card to drop out. This was a tarot card, Strength, which was also upside down.

"Oh, I think I now get it! This aura's supposed to represent a reversed Strength!" the goth took the deck of cards and glanced between. "The Strength card reversed tells that there is a definite need to develop self-discipline when dealing with people and the handling of situations."

Lucy giggled. "That fits Lynn perfectly, actually."

Suddenly, four more auras popped into existence: One was light blue, one was turquoise, one was yellow, and the last one was purple. Naturally, they changed into the shapes of Lori, Leni, Luan, and Luna respectively. Then they morphed further, and Lucy picked the corresponding card they represented.

First was Lori, who flipped herself upside down before she was seemingly hanged to a tree, with a white border appearing, and an "XII" appearing on the top border. This represented "The Hanged Man" card.

"When the Hanged Man shows in reverse, it's possible that the time has come to let go of an outdated attitude, situation, or friendship. Think things through first, of course, but be aware that a sensible sacrifice made now of something that no longer works for you will open up your life to something even more positive than what you "let go of." In reversal, this card particularly encourages you to not fight change."

The goth couldn't help but be confused at the reading. "That doesn't fit Lori at all... Does it?"

Next was Leni, who remained upright, and morphed to look like she was sitting on a throne, holding a cup. A white border appeared, and the number "XI" appeared on the top border. This represented the "Justice" card.

"This card evokes the need for fairness, balance, and harmony. Operate in as balanced and reasonable a fashion as you can. This includes in how you think about and treat yourself. If you are directly involved with a court case, it is likely to be resolved, at least in large degree, in your favor."

Lucy scratched her head. "Okay, that kinda does sound like it fits Leni, but something still feels off..."

Next was Luna, who got a white circle behind her as she looked down at some animals. Then the border appeared, followed by the number "XVIII" appearing on the top border. This represented "The Moon" and upon figuring that out, Lucy couldn't help but giggle a little.

"You are definitely in a more psychic and intuitive phase than usual, so it will be important for you to trust your instincts and your impressions, even if you don't know where they are coming from. Also, not that you need to be mistrusting, but it will be helpful for you to realize that when this card appears, it's possible that all is not what it seems. If you feel you can't trust someone, then you probably can't. Go with your gut. If you are waiting on an answer from someone, it may, unfortunately, take longer than you would like for it to. Try to stay patient."

Lucy couldn't help but sigh in pity. "Well, Luna's been kinda like that ever since she unlocked her angeloid powers..."

Finally, Luan morphed to show she held both a lantern and a staff, with a white border appearing soon afterwards, followed by the number "IX" appearing on the top border. This represented "The Hermit," which made Lucy slightly worried, for some reason.

"Just like with the Strength card, you may even more so be in the frame of mind that you need some time alone - don't be afraid to take it. Even if it's just a five minute walk around the house so that you can clear your head. This is also very much a card about "trying very hard to do the right thing." Just make sure that "doing the right thing" includes doing what is right for you personally, and not just worrying about the wants and needs of others."

The four auras disappeared, and left Lucy alone to contemplate the deck of cards. "Hmm... If those were the cards that represented Lori, Leni, Luna, and Luan, then what card would represent everybody else?"

Then, she got an idea, "Come to think of it, what card would represent Lincoln?"

"Wouldn't you like to find out?"

The goth flinched and turned around to see none other than her prototype counterpart, arms folded behind her back, and flashing a grin as she giggled maliciously.

"Vine?!" Lucy shrieked in a panic.

However, realizing this was probably just an illusion created from her guilt of the summoning fiasco, the blind poet gathered enough courage to snap, "What do you want?!"

Proto-Lucy just cackled like a maniac and flew away, deeper into the void. And despite still feeling anxious due to their last encounter, Lucy chased after her impostor.

 _Back on the cabin..._

Lynn and Lori sat on the couch, watching the TV as Leni arrived and said, "Okay, I ordered the pizza. Now all we have to do is wait for it to arrive."

"I still don't get why we have to order pizza," Lynn remarked. "I could just as easily cook something for all of us."

"Hey, you get pizza for dinner, you should be happy about that," Lori ruffled up Lynn's hair. "And besides, if the pizza delivery guy doesn't get here in 30 minutes, the pizza's free!"

"Well, the pizzeria I did call boasted that they had the fastest delivery men in Royal Woods," Leni remarked.

"Oh yeah?" Lori folded her arms. "And what makes you think they're not bluffing?"

Lori heard the doorbell, and with Leni shooting a smug smile at her, she got up and went to the door. Once she opened it, she saw Bobby outside, holding a pizza box. "Hello, your pizza has arrived," the boy said as Lori eyed the box. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?"

"Of course," Lori turned back to Bobby with a stern look, and seafoam green eyes. "You arrived way too early, come back when 30 minutes have passed."

The young woman slammed the door shut, and Bobby sighed and got ready to leave, only for Lori to open the door again-with her eyes back to normal-and stated, with clear panic, "Sorry, Bobby Boo Boo Bear, I wasn't acting like myself 'cause I was so hungry! Thanks a lot for the pizza, I really appreciate it and I'm sorry for everything that happened before-"

"Lori, babe, calm down, it's okay." Bobby handed Lori the pizza box. "Here's the pizza, that'll be 30 bucks."

Lori nodded, took out the money, and paid the pizza delivery guy. As he left and she waved goodbye, though, there was a moment when Bobby just stood still and looked at the young woman, hoping she would do something else. And she did: She closed the door and went back inside, after looking away from him, seemingly unnerved by his staring.

"Aw man, I should've know looking at her like that wouldn't work," Bobby remarked.

And so, Lori went back to her sisters, put the pizza box in the table, and opened it.

The jock, the phone-obsessed teenager and the ditzy fashionista sat down at the table, with a vegetarian pizza right in front of them. And while Lori and Leni didn't hesitate to take a piece each, Lynn simply stared at the pizza, partially in disbelief, partially in disgust.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you with the cooking, Leni," Lori apologized. "I should've known you couldn't cook one-handed."

"Nah, It's okay, what matters is that we managed to order a pizza instead," Leni answered. "Also, you paid for it, so I guess that's, like, some good karma for you!"

Lori nodded. "Best 30 bucks I've ever spent."

Then the duo noticed Lynn wasn't even trying to eat a slice. "Something wrong, Lynn?"

"Where's the meat?" the athlete grabbed a slice and narrowed her eyes. "Sausages? Meatballs? The freaking pepperoni?! There's no sort of meat in here, and you should know, meat means a lot to me!"

"What you say isn't true," Leni said, grabbing a piece of vegan sausage and showing it to the jock. "This is a vegan sausage."

"That's not the same!" Lynn slapped the vegan sausage away. "You know that as an athlete, I need to eat a lot of meat to regain the energy I lose from exercising! Eat your vegetarian pizza if you want, but at least get me some meat!"

Clearly offended by the jock's rather blatant lack of respect, Lori and Leni took a deep breath, and then shot a pair of glares at Lynn. Somehow, this was all they needed to do in order to get the athlete to shut up and listen to them.

"Lynn, I'm gonna be honest with you," Lori frowned. "As long as you're living with us, we're going to change your most significant issues and negative traits, starting with your insane energy and intense focus on sports."

"What?!" Lynn snapped, going back to her disrespectful yelling. "Lori, you know I'm an athlete, I need to stay energetic and focus on sports!"

"You're supposed to focus on only one or so sport, but you, like, focus on way too many sports at once: Baseball, or maybe softball, soccer, football, canoeing, even sport-themed board games!" Leni bluntly pointed out, and the jock fell silent. "Focusing on so many things at once builds up your stress, which makes you a lot more grumpy and short-tempered than you should be."

"B-But, athleticism is what makes me... Me!" the jock whined, slamming her fists down the table repeatedly as she added, "Without it, I'm not myself! You can't take that away from me!" then she got ready to literally flip the table. "I'm not going to let you take it away from me!"

However, just as she tried to flip the table, Leni and Lori grabbed the thing with one hand, and completely prevented the jock from teaching the table how to flip. No matter how hard she tried, Lynn couldn't even get the table to budge.

"We're not saying literally you're going to quit athleticism," Lori clarified, giving the jock a stern glare. "All we're saying is that you need to focus on one sport at a time, rather than multiple sports at once. Like maybe baseball, or football, or canoeing, but not all at the same time."

"By focusing on only one sport, you'll end up becoming a whole less stressed, hone your skill in that sport, and learn how to be a good competitor, rather than a sore one," Leni added, only to add, "Or would you, like, rather repeat what happened with Polly Pain?"

Upon hearing the girl's name, the image of Polly's distraught face flashed in Lynn's mind, which brought the jock from furious and defensive, to shaken and regretful. "Polly..." she said, taking a deep breath before releasing the table. "Okay, tell me what we're going to do."

"The sports deal will be left for tomorrow," Lori said as she and Leni released the table. "For now, just eat your dinner and get ready for bed."

Not wanting to anger the duo any further, Lynn promptly grabbed a piece of the vegetarian pizza and took a bite out of it. Strangely enough, while the lack of meat struck a nerve with the jock, she didn't necessarily feel like the pizza was inedible. Quite the contrary, in fact.

"So... How does it taste?" Leni asked, changing her glaring frown for a reassuring, calm smile.

"It's... Not as bad as I thought it would be," Lynn hesitantly answered, before taking another bite. "The veggies clash a little, but it tastes... Decent."

Leni brushed her sister's hair, and Lori flashed a smile and approving thumbs up as the trio continued to eat their pizza.

 _Back in the void..._

Lucy continued to chase after Vine, breathing heavily as she slowly started to slow down, while Proto-Lucy didn't look tired in the slightest. Eventually, the pair stopped right on their tracks.

"You know, Ariel, that was a pretty good chase you gave me just now," Proto-Lucy scoffed as the blind goth caught her breath. "However, right now, it's not the time for you to try break past your chains. Not yet."

"What nonsense are you spitting out this time?!" Lucy snapped. "First, there's the fact you and your sisters think my sisters and I are these Chains of Reality, then you claim everybody's a sinner in this world, and now you're talking about breaking past my chains!? Stop being so vague!"

"Be careful, Ariel, your Camael is showing," Proto-Lucy sneered. "And just in case you don't get that either, I'm talking about Lynn's counterpart."

"Lynn?"

Then, without warning, Proto-Lucy vanished from existence, her laughter echoing in the black void as Lucy started to look for her as fast as she could. However, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't see-literally and figuratively-where her counterpart even was. This didn't stop her from searching, though, and she continued to look, only to stop when she heard:

"It's your fault."

And the voice sounded far too familiar for the blind goth. "M-Maggie?"

"I invite you into my house, tried to get closer to you, and how did you repay me?"

Lucy quickly tried to respond, "Y-You forced me to-"

Only for the voice to sternly repeat. "How did you repay me?"

Lucy fell silent, and the voice harshly added.

"And you summoned her, not because you needed her, not because it would've helped you, and definitely not because you wanted to spite me. No, you summoned her, 'cause you're a fucking idiot!"

The blind poet took a step back, only to quickly try to put on a brave facade as she spat in return, "W-Well, maybe if you hadn't forced me to make a choice so soon, my counterpart wouldn't have caused such a big mess!"

The voice just chuckled. "Your failed attempt to pin the blame on me is amusing, but your refusal to accept responsibility disgusts me."

Lucy felt tears forming on her... Well, eye sockets as she muttered, "I don't... I-I don't-"

"Relax, sweetheart."

The goth stopped, then turned around to see a familiar face: Her great grandma Harriet. More specifically, the younger version of Harriet, who held a striking resemblance to Lucy herself."

"Great Grandma Harriet?!" Lucy exclaimed, in both surprise and relief.

"Please, sweetie, call me, Harriet," the apparition remarked as she gently walked to the girl. "I believe you brought me here because you needed some comfort, right?"

"What? I brought you here?"

"It's your mind, sweetie. Everything that happens here, did happen because you thought it up."

"Even my counterpart?!"

Harriet sighed. "I'm a part of your mind, sweetie. If you don't know, how am I supposed to know?"

"True..." the goth looked at the ground. "What should I do now?"

Harriet snapped her fingers, and an aura that looked like Lincoln appeared. "Maybe there is somebody you can go to?"

And so, Lucy realized what this meant, and woke up, determined to look for her brother. And while she had a bit of difficulty getting out of her room, she managed to get on the hallway and head off towards Lincoln's bedroom. As she did this, Lucy spotted an aura that felt like Lisa, but the top part-right where the hair would be-was glowing dark green, and she was holding something.

"What do you have there, Lisa?" Lucy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a small vial of Lincoln's blood," the genius nonchalantly responded. "Our brother unit asked me to analyze this for him in order to figure out if something was up with his body. And while I would've said no in any other situation, he has been acting weird lately, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to give this analysis a shot."

The prodigy continued on her way, but not before adding, "If you're going to go meet him, try to be your usual deadpan self. He's gotten more... Emotional than before, for lack of a better word."

With that said, Lucy continued walking to Lincoln's bedroom and knocked the door, with the boy saying "come in" soon afterwards. Once she went inside, her vision now letting her see the boy was resting on his bed, clutching his stomach with slight pain.

"Lincoln?" she asked as she walked towards her brother.

"Oh, hi Lucy, thanks for not coming out of nowhere this time," Lincoln remarked, taking a deep breath. "Do you need something?"

"Well, I had... Something of a nightmare: First, I found myself in the middle of a black void. Then, I saw some auras, which morphed to look like our sisters, doing a visual representation of certain tarot cards. And suddenly, my counterpart appeared out of nowhere-!"

"Lucy, I'm gonna have to ask you to stop there," Lincoln uttered, causing the goth to shut up. "Listen, I'm already having trouble sleeping with this pain I'm feeling in my gut, I don't need you to give me even more problems by getting nightmares, or flashbacks to the Proto-you fiasco."

"I'm sorry, I... Kinda forgot about that," Lucy eyed Lincoln's stomach. "What's with that gut pain, by the way?"

"I don't know, I've had it since I drank that lavender liquid," then Lincoln turned to look at the goth. "Anyway, what do you need?"

Lucy blushed and twiddled her fingers. "Can... Can I sleep with you, if only for today?"

Lincoln smiled. "Of course, I don't mind at all."

Relieved by her brother's understanding nature, Lucy smiled and promptly went off to sleep... Under Lincoln's bed. And while the boy found this weird at first, he quickly ignored it-since Lucy had done weirder things-and fell asleep.

 _Meanwhile, at "Lynn's" bedroom..._

The jock walked into her new bedroom, with Lynn holding her hand by her side. The room was fairly simple: A bed, a closet, a pair of windows-one showing the hallway and the other showing the living room-and a television.

However, the most notable aspect was that the "Lynn" name outside at the door was actually just crudely drawn next to a marked out "Carol," drawn equally crudely. In fact, if Lynn's name was on something, it was more than likely next to a marked out "Carol."

This was done by Lori, no doubt about it.

"Alright, Lynn, this'll be your room during your stay in our cabin," Leni said as she lead the jock to her bed. "For now, we're gonna leave introducing you to somebody else for later, and the sports stuff. Right now, just lay down, relax, and-"

Suddenly, Lynn snapped. "Cut it out!"

Leni flinched as the jock separated from her and promptly ranted, "I did a mistake! Most of our family hates me! The only member of my sport activities that I thought of as a friend hates me! I'm basically seen as the black sheep of the family by anybody who managed to hear the intervention, which include you and Lori for some reason!"

And as Lynn started to cry, Leni silently walked towards her and crouched down.

"So, why don't you hate me like everybody else!?"

Suddenly, Leni put a hand on Lynn's shoulder and kissed her forehead, leaving behind a faint spiral signal as Lynn noticed and looked up to see Leni's reassuring smile.

"Because, dear Lynn, Lori and I are not sheep that mindlessly follow what because. We're shepherds. And shepherds tend, or herd, or guard, or otherwise lead sheeps into the right direction. Which is what Lori and I are going to do with you, but you gotta be patient, got it?"

Lynn silently nodded.

And for some reason, she started feeling sleepy too.

"Now go to sleep, okay?" Leni requested with a wink.

Lynn nodded, and Leni promptly put her in bed and tucked her in as Lynn closed her eyes. Once the young athlete had fallen asleep, Leni sneakily left the room and reunited with Lori, who was watching the jock through her room's open window. While Leni did realize what she was missing this time, she didn't try to fix it right away, rather, she watched the sleeping Lynn alongside Lori, with a look of delight.

"She looks so cute when she sleeps, doesn't she, Lori?" Leni blushed and clasped her hands. "A brand new kid under our household, can you believe it?"

"Yeah, I guess," Lori shrugged and shook her head. "Let's just hope she isn't a letdown like the last one."

This earned her a punch to the face from Leni. "Lori! You know Carol and I are sensitive about... That!"

The young woman just crossed her arms and scoffed, "Tsk, ask me if I care. And if you do, don't expect anything other than "I don't care" for an answer."

Then, she added with a stern tone, "You did remember to bring those things too, right?"

Leni frowned, then lead her older sister to their room, and to their closet. Once she opened it, they saw the box from before, still holding all remaining gemstones-minus the amethyst and emerald for obvious reasons-and remaining rings-minus the purple and red, which were in Lincoln's possession-in a safe place.

"We really need to get those rings back," Lori stated, narrowing her eyes. "As long as Lincoln, and specially Luna, are within the reach of those things, who knows what other secrets that should remain hidden will be uncovered!"

"Well, if it helps you calm down, with Lynn in our house, any secrets Proto-Lynn's ring could hold won't fall into her hands," Leni said, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. "And besides, Carol has been keeping everybody busy for a while! First the training, then the beach, and I'm pretty certain she'll have another thing ready to distract them even more!"

"That does calm down... But just slightly." Lori eyed the emerald's empty spot. "I need to question, though, what exactly did they do with the emerald."

Leni hummed. "The emerald's the gem of Sathariel, so I'm pretty sure if they did get it, they would give it to Lisa."

"Heh, then I guess they just did our job for us," Lori scoffed, with regret hidden in her tone. "After all, one of literally our many jobs given by our counterparts is to..."

Lori hesitated, but eventually finished, "Kill our sisters, when they become too much of a problem," she narrowed her eyes. "And considering what's going on with Lisa's condition, all they did was speed up her demise. Let's just hope she manages to provide the family with one last hurrah before she perishes."

Leni sighed. "I still can't believe Lisa's been building a giant robot under the house."

Lori shrugged. "I literally can. After all, seeing how she was apparently going nuts from the weirdness around her, it was only a matter of time before she herself started to do weird things. And besides, she did seem to hold a pretty high deal of faith in it. But that's for another discussion, another day, let's go to sleep now."

Lori closed the closet, and Leni eyed it one last time before sleeping together. Just as they got ready to do that, though, Leni suddenly asked, "By the way, Lori, do you have some bacne you need to take care of?"

Though hesitant to answer the question, Lori's silent non-response and worried look was all the answer Leni needed. And as the duo prepared to check Lori's back, Lynn, with the spiral symbol on her forehead nowhere to be seen, walked to Lori and Leni's bedroom, and was about to enter until she took a peak through the window.

In that peak, she saw Lori take off her shirt, revealing several glowing sea foam green acne spots, which looked exactly like a girl that looked similar to Leni. This was probably Proto-Leni they were based after.

"I really don't understand, of all the side-effects your counterpart could impose on my body, why did it have to be bacne?!" Lori whined as Leni used her divine healing powers to deal with the bacne. "And not even normal bacne, but one that can only be seen by divine beings like you and me?!"

"Hey, you should be happy that you have somebody like me with you," Leni told her older sister, who folded her arms. "Otherwise, you'd have no chance to deal with them. And besides, you know why this side-effect happened, don't you?"

Lynn raised an eyebrow as Lori refused to answer. And then Leni said, "This side-effect, and any other side-effect we get, is because we use the power of our counterparts. Though, judging from the amount you have right now, you've been abusing it much less than usual."

"W-Would you please just deal with it already?!" Lori hissed. "I don't want Lynn to come in here and see this stuff."

Leni smiled. "Don't worry, this'll be quick."

And as Leni's quest to eradicate the Proto-Leni-induced bacne of Lori, Lynn quietly left and sneaked her way back into her room, pondering what she saw, what that meant, but above all...

Whether she could call upon her own counterpart's power.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Upon hearing that, Luan stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know, I-I-I didn't mean to-"

"We know, but please, watch your words next time," Shrinivas sighed. "We're gonna go now, goodbye."

And so, the teacher duo went on to the leave the graveyard, while Luan continued forward to her friend's gravestone, her encounter with the duo having left a bad taste in her mouth. But, just like what Giggles would say, look at the bright side: At least there was somebody who shared her pain, and she hopefully wouldn't meet somebody else on her way to the clown girl's tombstone.

Cue an eye-catching statement:

"Listen up, Hugh, either you get your British butt right over here and cheer up our little sister, or I'll tell everybody in our family how you refuse to follow the Swagger tradition, and the real reason why you decided to go live in Britain!"


	32. Graveyard Ruckus

**Okay, here's the next chapter. This one will deal with the stuff Luan said was going to do last chapter, as well as focus on Lindsey and Maggie in the prototype reality. Why? Well, let's just say after discovering the proto-sisters could sort of travel through dimensions, she wasn't going to let that knowledge go to waste.**

 **Also, for those who thought that Lindsey and Maggie's fates-becoming toys and playthings to the prototype sisters-was too cruel (Which I'm still amazed by, since the former summoned a demon and tried to get Lola killed, and the latter outright killed Giggles and showed no remorse for that-not at the moment, but still-not to mention all the antagonism she gave to Haiku) this chapter should ease your worries. Not all of them, but some of them.**

 **Anyway, enough babbling, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lynn and Lucy found themselves in a rather familiar situation: Plagued by guilt from their previous actions, the summoning of Proto Lucy, and the intervention of Polly Pain. Their guilt was so grand, they weren't even able to rest peacefully.**

 **However, while Lucy managed to find a comforting hand in Lincoln's bedroom, Lynn only found herself stuck with Lori and Leni, who despite their friendly and caring demeanor, were definitely hiding something from the athlete.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Requiem for a Tragic Comedy! Proto-Lily's Where?!**

* * *

 _The next day, at the Royal Woods' Graveyard..._

Luan and Lucy stood in front of the gloomy graveyard, with both of them looking somewhat unnerved by the sight of the entrance. Specially in Lucy's case, who was so spooked she actually clung to her older sister's arm for safety. Which Luan quickly noticed.

"W-Well, this isn't something I was hoping to see," the comedian blurted, trying to hide her discomfort. "Lucy, are you really scared of this place now? You've visited this place more times than I can think of!"

"That was _before_ Giggles and Haiku joined the corpses," Lucy somberly sighed. "I don't want to see the proof of what happened thanks to my counterpart's summoning."

"Then why did you come with me in the first place?" Luan frowned. "I explicitly told you I was going here to pay Giggles' grave a visit."

"I thought if I took a deep breath and thought of nice things, it wouldn't be so overwhelming to come here, but I was wrong," the goth looked at the ground. "Just like every other time."

Naturally, it was a no brainer to Luan that Lucy wasn't comfortable in that place at all. However, once she remembered there was somebody else who needed to know the truth, someone who could be with a familiar freckled Hispanic tomboy, she got an idea.

"Lucy?" she blurted, catching the goth's attention. "How about you go see if Giggles and Haiku's friends are at Ronnie Anne's house, so we can show them what happened to them?"

"That sounds way too cruel!" the goth snapped, separating from her sister. "After everything that happened to them, you want to let them know their friends are dead?!"

Luan, however, just shook her head and explained, "They'll have to find out eventually, Lucy. They might as well find out while things are still calm."

Seeing logic in her sister's words, Lucy nodded and ran off to gather Ronnie and the other Sadie Hawkins dates, only to stop when Luan called, "Try to find somebody to come with you first! You know, so you don't bump into anything!"

Prompting the blind poet to reply, "Luan, I already told you I'm fine! I have dealt with my blindness!"

Then Lucy ran off again, hitting the entrance of the graveyard before she managed to exit the location. "I seriously hope she stops making that assumption," Luan shook her head. "The faster she does that, the faster she can start fixing it for real."

So Luan walked deeper into the graveyard, with the sight of so many gravestones sending chills up her spine. No doubt most of these probably belonged to the victims of Maggie's Edgy Sphere of Despair-Ow the edge!-and the destruction of the poetry club.

Not that she had a lot of time to reflect about it, since her attention was soon caught by a peculiar sight: Mrs. Shrinivas and Mrs. DiMartino. However, the thing that alarmed her the most was the fact that Mrs. DiMartino looked outright devastated: She covered her face as she cried her heart out, with her hair being a partial mess, and her mascara running down her cheeks.

"Mrs. DiMartino! Mrs. Shrinivas!" Luan called as she approached the pair. "I... Didn't think I was going to see you here today."

"Well, we agree on something, Mrs. Loud," Mrs. Shrinivas answered as she continued to pat DiMartino's back. "Why did you come here? I'd expect your Gothic sister-I think her name was Lucy-to pay this place a visit, not you."

"She's a bit... Hesitant to come here, ever since the death of her friend," Luan rubbed her arms. "And speaking of that, I came here to pay a visit to Giggles. Do you know where her gravestone is?"

DiMartino flashed a horrified look before covering her face and crying some more. "She's right back where we came from, continue going on a straight line and you should find her," Shrinivas answered, with a slight hint of anger on her tone. "And try to not be so blunt about it. Giggles was DiMartino's daughter, so her death's a very sensitive topic for her."

Upon hearing that, Luan stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know, I-I-I didn't mean to-"

"We know, but please, watch your words next time," Shrinivas sighed. "We're gonna go now, goodbye."

And so, the teacher duo went on to the leave the graveyard, while Luan continued forward to her friend's gravestone, her encounter with the duo having left a bad taste in her mouth. But, just like what Giggles would say, look at the bright side: At least there was somebody who shared her pain, and she hopefully wouldn't meet somebody else on her way to the clown girl's tombstone.

Cue an eye-catching statement:

"Listen up, Hugh, either you get your British butt right over here and cheer up our little sister, or I'll tell everybody in our family how you refuse to follow the Swagger tradition, and the real reason why you decided to go live in Britain!"

The comedian immediately turned around, and saw Sam grabbing and pulling Giggles' tombstone, trying to lift it from the ground.

"What are you doing?!"

"Duh, what does look like I'm doing?!" Sam snapped, shooting a glare at Luan as she added, "I'm going to take out these tombstones, then the corpses, then clean the ground to make sure it doesn't look like there were ever any corpses in here!"

"But you're defiling the dead!" Luan pointed out, which did exactly nothing in stopping Sam from pulling the tombstone. "Why are you even doing this?!"

Sam stopped pulling the tombstone, got up, and sternly walked to the comedian as she growled her response: "Two of my youngest sister's friends died without her ever realizing it happened! And if she does find out that they died, she's going to be devastated! She's been through more than enough crap already; So you can bet I'm not going to stay by the sidelines and let anybody-or maybe just your sister or her new friend-tell her about this and give her more anguish!"

Just before the rocker could go back to her dead-defiling, Luan grabbed her by the arm and held her as she said, "Hold it! There has to be another way to help your sister deal with this _without_ committing a crime in the process!"

The blonde rocker didn't seem to be in the mood for negotiation, if the bared fangs and furious glare she shot next were any indication. "Let me go before I bury you right next to her friends!"

The comedian flinched, startled at the statement, but she managed to gather enough courage to ask, "Dead or alive?"

Sam frowned, "Do you really wanna know? Let me go, or else you'll find out!"

However, despite the obvious threats and signs telling her to go away-even a brief flash where Sam looked like Lori-Luan took a deep breath and outright refused to let go. And seeing the comedian's defiance, rage surge through Sam's body, until it made her grab and lift Luan up in the sky, then throw her away into the dirt before cracking her knuckles and stating:

"Dead it is!"

Luan promptly got up and dodged an incoming punch from Sam, who continued to throw punches in the air as she desperately tried to hit the comedian. However, it wasn't long before she noticed her ponytail.

The musician promptly smiled and threw another punch in such a way that would leave the ponytail exposed when Luan dodged it. And the first chance she got, she grabbed the ponytail and restrained Luan with her remaining arm.

"Huh, nice ponytail you got there, it reminds me of myself when I was younger," Sam said before pulling Luan's hair. "Of course, they're also a pretty big weakness if you let people grab them!"

"Stop pulling my hair!" Luan demanded, holding back tears.

"Promise me you won't get in my way and I'll let you go!" Sam barked, pulling the comedian's hair even harder.

This prompted Luna to elbow Sam right in the gut, causing the musician to release her and grab her gut in pain.

And with Sam stunned from the attack, Luan managed to pin down Sam and restrain her.

"Sam, please, listen to reason!" she pleaded as the musician growled at her. "There has to be another way to deal with this! One that won't end with us beating the stuffing out of each other! I mean, my sister likes you alot, so I don't even want to think what she would do if she found out I hurt you!"

Then, Sam switched with Luan and pinned her down before proclaiming, "To hell with your sister! _My_ sister's the one that needs my help right now, and nothing you or that sister of yours can do will stop me!"

That statement made Luan change from "Desperately hoping to find another way" to "screw finding another way!" almost immediately. "Oh really? How about a little savinoken?!"

"Savino-wha-?"

Luan activated the savinoken, shouting to the skies as Sam was sent flying off into the ground, luckily nowhere near the hard gravestones. However, once the pair got up, Sam only chuckled, seemingly unfazed by the sight.

"You're not surprised at this?!" the orange-tinted super powered comedian asked in disbelief.

Sam narrowed her eyes. "Why should I be surprised by that..."

Then, with the stripe on her hair glowing, Sam reached for it, then seemingly took out a guitar-axe hybrid from it.

"When I can do this?!" she exclaimed with a smirk.

Soon afterwards, Sam leaped towards Luan and swung her rainbow instrument, which Luan promptly grabbed by the blades and threw it-alongside Sam-far away. However, Sam simply took this as a chance to throw her rainbow axe right for the empowered comedian, who simply dodged it... Before Sam used her arms to move the instrument around, managing to get a couple slashes on Luan before smacking her with the butt of the object.

"Hey, I'd like to _axe_ you a question!"

Luan summoned an axe made of energy, then fought against the seemingly sentient rainbow instrument until Sam caught it and clashed axes with the comedian. And as they evenly clashed with each other, Luan gave talking to the musician another shot.

"Sam, we don't have to do this! If we just talked for a little moment, then you would realize that trying to defile the dead just to hide the truth from your sister, then you would realize that this isn't the best thing to do!"

Sam, however, just continued to clash against the comedian, and actually managed to start pushing her back as she sternly proclaimed:

"Don't you dare go around telling me what's best for my sister or not! If there's one thing I've been taught for my entire life, is that the only person who truly knows what's best for Tabby is myself! Not you, not Maggie, not Hugh, me! And I'm not going to listen to some random nobody who thinks she knows my stuff better than I do!"

The clash came to a close and Sam begun swinging her rainbow axe-guitar as hard as she could. Luan managed to block the first two strikes, but the remaining strike not only slash her cheek, but brought her to the ground, giving Sam the opportunity to put a foot over here and raise her rainbow instrument, with the full intent to strike Luan down as she hissed:

"Now pay for standing in my way!"

Just as Sam swung her rainbow-guitar-axe, though, a certain somebody leaped out of nowhere and blocked the attack, sending the axe-wielding musician back a couple feet.

This certain someone was none other than Maggie, who spun a reddish-pink yo-yo around to form a shield of sorts.

"Maggie?!" Luan and Sam exclaimed, the former in slight relief, the latter in annoyance.

"Ugh, you just had to pop up out of nowhere, didn't you?!" Sam hissed, stomping the ground as Maggie smirked. "First you kill Tabby's friends, Cackles and Hokku, and now you have the audacity to return to this world?!"

"You're trying to damn me for killing Tabby's friends, but not only did you get their names wrong, but you're the one trying to outright murder someone for petty reasons," Maggie scoffed in return. "And besides..."

Just in that moment, Lucy, Tabby, Polly Pain, and Ronnie Anne arrived at the scene, catching Sam, Maggie, and Luan's attention. "We got some company."

"Sam? Maggie? Giggles' friend?" Tabby remarked in confusion. "What's going on here?"

Sam promptly un-summoned her rainbow instrument and Luan deactivated the savinoken as the musician ran to the young rock star. "Tabby, what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed before covering Tabby's eyes. "I-I'm pretty sure you need to do something back at home or something-"

Tabby, clearly aggravated, slapped Sam's hands away and hissed, "Alright, what did you do this time?!"

"Me? Having done something bad?!" Sam scoffed before ruffling Tabby's hair. "Sis, you know that whatever I did, it can't have been that bad! It's all for your sake, after all-"

"Sam, you know that if there's something I hate more than whenever you get us into trouble, is whenever you or anybody else dodges my questions!" Tabby slapped away her sister's hands once more. "Now give me an actual answer before I-"

Suddenly, Tabby's attention was caught by the gravestones, particularly the names written in them. "Wait... Are these-?"

"The tombstones of both Giggles and Haiku," Luan finished as she got up and dusted herself.

"Both of which died thanks to this degenerate emo scumbag right here!" Sam shouted, pointing at Maggie with her middle finger.

"That's not true!" Maggie snapped, clearly offended by the remark. "I only killed Giggles."

"See?! She even admits it!" Sam crouched down and put a hand on Tabby's shoulder. "This is the proof that Maggie is a horrible influence to anybody, specially you! I mean, after everything your clown friend did for her, she ups and kills her! You need to realize that-"

"Ugh, I told that joker that it was a terrible idea to try and force Maggie to cheer up!" Tabby snapped, stomping the ground and putting her hands on her pockets. "But did she listen to me? No! She just needed a push up, she said! She needed to turn that frown into a smile, she said!"

"You're not reacting correctly, I said," Sam stated, catching her younger sister's attention. "I mean, you just found out Maggie killed one of your friends, and you're not angry at her?!"

"Oh, I'm definitely angry with Maggie, but I'm more annoyed with Giggles 'cause again, I warned her that it was a terrible idea!" Tabby rolled her eyes. "But she was so persistent on getting Maggie to smile, I'm honestly not surprised Maggie tried to get her to leave her alone. Yeah, she killed her in a gruesome way, but Giggles had no reason at all to even try to cheer her up, specially after the cheer-up party she did for her didn't work all that well!"

"I'm kinda confused," Ronnie turned to the roller skater. "Polly, do you know what she's talking about?"

"Giggles is pretty determined when it comes to cheering people up and bringing smiles to their faces," Polly shrugged and shook her head. "She's so determined, she tries to cheer up people even when it's rather clear they either aren't in a good mood, or they want her to leave them alone."

"Huh, that sounds like something I would do," Luan sighed. "Still, t-that doesn't really give Maggie the excuse to kill her off!"

"What part of what I just said sounded like I was trying to justify what Maggie did?" Tabby pointed out, surprising the comedian. "I may have a soft spot for her, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to ignore it when she does something truly awful. Still, I did warn Giggles, she refused to hear me, and she paid for it. I hate to admit it, but that's fact."

Soon afterwards, she turned to Sam, who flinched as the little rock star said, "Besides, there's a much more important matter to discuss, something a bit more... Suspicious."

Then, with a stern glare, she asked, "What were you doing here, Sam?"

"She was trying to take out Haiku and Giggles' tombstones, then take out their corpses, and finally clean up the ground to make it look like they were never in the graveyard in the first place," Luan quickly explained, with Tabby hearing intently as the musician took a step back. "She did it with the pretense to save you from the trauma of discovering they had died."

As she earned several angry looks from Ronnie, Tabby, and Polly-Lucy was more focused on Maggie at the moment-Sam nervously said, "C-Come on, sis, you don't really believe this... Girl, right?"

"Why shouldn't I? That sounds like something you would do," Tabby narrowed her eyes. "A better question would be, why are you still here?"

"I-"

"Get out of here before I tattle you with the police, you barmy arsehat!"

Seeing she had no other choice, Sam glared at Luan before putting her hands on her pockets and left the graveyard. With her gone, Ronnie and Polly reunited with Tabby

"I'm sorry you had to see that, guys," Tabby rubbed her forehead. "Sam's such a pain in the arse sometimes."

"Why did "

"It's all thanks to dad," Maggie revealed, catching everybody's attention, but specially Lucy's. "You see-"

"Are we talking with you?!" Lucy hissed, stomping the ground. "No, we aren't, so-"

The emo teen turned to the young rock star. "Tabby, perhaps you should tell them instead?"

"Might as well, if it stops this occultist anorak from interrupting again," Tabby took a deep breath as Lucy glared at her. "You see, of the four kids dad had, he had the closest relationship with Sam: The two were so close, that not only did Sam start glorifying him, but she took on his goals and ideals, turning her more active in taking the initiative, while ignoring the ensuing consequences."

Suddenly, Polly exclaimed, "Wait a minute, I just thought of something: Are you saying that you, Maggie, and Sam share the same father?!"

"Well, in my case, he was more of a "GSD" rather than an actual father," Tabby bitterly answered. "Maggie, Sam, and my older brother had the displeasure of being fathered by him."

"GSD?" Luan repeated with confusion.

"It's an acronym for Glorified Sperm Donor," Maggie bitterly explained. "Though, in his case, he's not so much glorified by Tabby as he's glorified by Sam. In my case, I detest him."

"And for me, I don't really glorify him so much as he confuses me and makes me want to stay as far away from him as possible," Tabby sighed. "But, anyhow, point is, Sam was trying to defile the dead thanks to dad's teachings."

"Wow, your father sounds like a jerk," Ronnie said, only to chirp, "Good thing my father isn't around to make a comparison!"

"Ronnie, that's not something you should say out loud!" Polly remarked, trying to stop the tomboy from digging herself deeper.

"Nah, let her talk, think of it as a consolation since her father's probably not even half as famous mine," Tabby scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh really?" Ronnie narrowed her eyes. "You're right, he isn't a very famous man, but who even is your father, then, if he is that famous?"

Tabby opened her mouth and get ready to answer, only to turn to Luan and ask, "So, why did you and Haiku's friend come here in the first place?"

"Hey, at least answer my question!" the freckled Hispanic girl huffed.

"Get used to that little non-response, dude," Polly sighed.

"Well, I came here to pay Giggles some tribute, you know, since she's dead and all," Luan turned to her goth sister. "And I was also gonna pay some tribute to Haiku too, until Lucy decided to come with me."

"Then what is _she_ doing here?" Lucy snarled, pointing at Maggie.

"I came to get something for a friend," the emo teenager shrugged. "The original reality becomes a very boring place once you've gotten used to the prototype Louds or whatever torturing you. The fact that it's so barren and lifeless doesn't help it either."

Suddenly, Luan exclaimed, "Wait a minute, you mean to tell me you've met my counterpart, along my sisters' and brother's counterparts, and you're still alive?!"

"Of course, death is not possible in the original reality," Maggie played with the yo-yo. "And just for your information, your brother has no counterpart. Only you and your sisters do."

"Don't listen to her!" Lucy exclaimed. "She's probably lying!"

"Nah, she's telling the truth," Tabby stated, saving her hands on her pockets. "After all, a Swagger can tell when another Swagger lies."

Literally a couple seconds later, something struck Lucy and Luan, "Wait, Maggie's your sister?!"

"We're related, yes," Tabby bluntly answered. "However, we're not exactly full sisters: Dad was kind of a playing jerk, going from woman to woman at his own leisure. And he never had more than one child every couple of years."

"Sounds like someone I know," Luan rolled her eyes. "Anyway, if you're not sisters, then what are you?"

"Half-Sisters," Maggie answered, folding her arms. "Same deal with our half-brother Hugh, and Sam, regardless of her attempts to say otherwise. Anyway, I'm running a little bit short on time, so I'm gonna take my leave now-"

"M-Maggie, hold on!" Luan exclaimed, getting the emo to stop for a moment. "How did you even manage to return to this world?!"

"There's something called portals, idiot," Maggie rolled her eyes. "Once you manage to find both a way to open one, and a way to get it to open to a specific location, you can basically travel anywhere in the multiverse."

"The multiverse?" Luan repeated.

"Well, you asked your question, now's my turn," Maggie turned around, with Lucy and Luan flinching and getting ready to fight, just in case the emo tried something. "I heard you mention Luna had a crush on Sam. What's that all about?"

Luan raised an eyebrow as a chill went up her spine and she fell silent.

"Um, hello? I asked you a question, and I expect you to answer it properly," the emo narrowed her eyes. "Otherwise-"

Suddenly, Lucy lunged straight for Maggie, only for the emo teenager to smack her right back to Ronnie, Polly, and Tabby with a single swing of the yo-yo. "Goth-o!" Ronnie exclaimed as she caught Lucy in her arms.

"Yo, Tabby and company, make sure she doesn't interrupt the adults here, alright?" Maggie said before turning back to Luan. "Anyway, as I was saying, or you give me an answer, or I'll hunt down Luna and as her myself."

"W-Well, I promised Luna I wouldn't just blurt this out in public, specially not with Tabby nearby, but I also don't want you to bother her..." the comedian hesitated and tried to think about her options...

Only to change her mind when she saw Maggie's stern glare. "Ah dang it, fine: Luna got a crush on Sam a long time ago, and she still like-likes her to this day!"

Ronnie dropped Lucy in surprise, while Tabby's eyes grew wide and she exchanged worried looks with Polly Pain.

And unlike the quartet, Maggie seemed positively ticked at the revelation. "Tell her to ditch the crush and find another lover, she can do so much better than Sam," she barked, clenching her teeth. "And if you're either too much of a coward to tell her that or she's too stubborn to agree, then just tell her to be careful."

"Why..." Luan blurted, before she frowned with worry. "Do you sound worried for Luna?"

Maggie flinched, then looked away before answering, "You don't understand, Luan: Sam may look like a nice girl outside, but as Tabby said, dad's teachings and upbringing has turned the inside Sam into somebody who's willing to do anything, and hurt anybody, in order to get what she wants. And that includes people like Luna, who... Love her."

After cringing from that last part, Maggie spun the yo-yo around until it opened a portal to the original reality, which she jumped through soon afterwards. Then, as the portal closed, Ronnie and Polly went to Tabby while Lucy went to Luan.

"You have my condolences," Ronnie said as she patted Tabby's back.

"Anything we can do to make you feel better?" Polly asked, folding her arms behind her back.

"You, Polly, might just have the thing I need," Tabby answered, smiling at the roller skater before she turned to Ronnie Anne. "You, however, Ronnie Anne... I don't think you can help us at all. That and I don't really see you as a friend yet."

"Oh right, 'cause I only managed to befriend Polly so far," Ronnie put her hands on her pockets. "Man, I need to step up my game."

"Anyhow, Polly," Tabby walked towards the roller skater. "Would you like to play some music with me?"

The roller skater flinched and blushed, seemingly caught completely off-guard by the request. "B-But Tabby, it's been so long since we last played some music," Polly rubbed her arm. "And besides, we both know the poetry club went up in flames. Literally. Where could we play music now?"

"My house has a garage, maybe you could play in there?" Ronnie suddenly blurted, and she continued to speak even as Polly gestured her to shut up. "And you can play even if it's open, since the neighbors never really pay any attention to it."

"How kind of you to give us that suggestion, Ronnie Anne," Tabby said, before throwing a glare at the freckled tomboy's direction. "So kind, in fact, I wonder if you have secret plans or something."

"Hey, if a garage isn't your thing, I could help you look around for a better place," Ronnie replied with a shrug. "I'm just giving you a choice, I'm not gonna force you to pick it."

Either Tabby legitimately appreciated the remark, or reverse psychology kicked in, since Tabby promptly answered, "Alright, we'll do the garage. If Polly is okay with that."

"I... I am."

"Fair enough. Ronnie, lead the way!"

And so, the trio promptly left the graveyard, leaving Lucy and Luan all alone to look at Giggles and Haiku's tombstones.

 _Back in the original Reality..._

Lindsey sat on the ground, grabbing and throwing a pebble at a pile of rocks as she waited for Maggie to come back. After all, it's not like she could ask Proto-Lynn to help her past time, that would end with her getting several broken bones and the prototype jock being drenched in her blood, at the very best.

Also, with the dimension's ability to negate any and all death, it had gotten pretty boring.

Luckily, a portal opened close to her and Maggie came out of it, playing with the yo-yo as she arrived. Naturally, Lindsey immediately turned to look at the emo.

"Hi Lindsey," she greeted as the portal vanished from existence. "I hope I wasn't gone for long."

Suddenly, Lindsey leaped and hugged Maggie as tightly as she could. Though surprised at first, Maggie took a deep breath and returned the hug soon afterwards.

"Aw, I missed you too, you little self-centered strawberry," Maggie said, earning a look from Lindsey. She clearly had no idea whether to be offended or flattered by the remark. "Here, I brought you a toy from the new reality."

Lindsey grabbed the yo-yo, released Maggie, then eyed it as the emo said, "I know, of all the toys I could get you, why a yo-yo? It might seem like an odd choice at first, but-"

Before the emo could even finish, however, she was surprised when Lindsey first swung the yo-yo in a shield motion like he did, then wrapped a rock with it before throwing it at the void, and finally jumped, and motioned the yo-yo to act like a helicopter blade, letting her hover for a moment.

"Huh, those were some neat trics, kid," Maggie folded her arms. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"I just made them up: I first tried to use the yo-yo like normal, then tried using it like a whip, and finally like a copter blade, or whatever those are called," Lindsey answered as she stopped spinning the toy. "I really like it, thanks Maggie."

Just as Maggie smiled at the redhead's compliment, however, the duo were joined by a familiar, yet very unpleasant appearance. It was Proto-Lynn, who not only cracked her knuckles, but also looked incredibly pissed off.

"Move aside, Luan's toy," the prototype jock hissed at Maggie. "I need to let out some stress on my personal toy!"

Maggie promptly got in front of Lindsey and snapped, "I thought you already hurt her enough with your sick games! Why hurt her even more!?"

"Didn't you hear?" Proto-Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Lily has gone missing, and without her by our side, everybody is a whole lot more angry and anxious from it. Except for Luna, for some reason."

"Nah, let me try something out," the redhead replied. "You go and see if you can find out why Lily has gone missing.

And as the redheaded copycat approached the prototype athlete, Maggie could only utter "Lindsey?" in both confusion and worry.

Once Lindsey had gotten close enough to the proto-jock, the two stared at each other for a moment, though it didn't took long before Proto-Lynn seemingly grew annoyed at Lindsey's distinct lack of terrified fright.

"What's the matter?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "You're trembling or pleading for mercy at this point. What changed?"

Lindsey promptly revealed her yo-yo, "Maggie brought me this new yo-yo, and with it, I'm never going to be your complete inferior ever again!"

Proto-Lynn, however, just laughed out loud at the statement, "That's just a children's toy! Do you really think it can help you stand up to me?"

Lindsey smirked. "Only one way to find out."

And so, the prototype jock and the redheaded copycat fought as Maggie flew off to the next domain, then the next one, and so on and so forth until she managed to find the one domain that held the interdimensional television: Proto-Luna's domain. Over there, the proto-priest eyed the static screen with a stern look.

"Heh, television, am I right?" Maggie scoffed as she approached Proto-Luna, who shot a glare at the emo. "It has nothing good no whenever you do want to watch it."

"The channel's not the issue, it's the fact that Lisa refuses to establish contact that's the problem," Proto-Luna turned back to the television and hissed, "Sathariel, as the highest ranked sister of Lincolnism, and the only available High Sister at the moment, I demand that you-"

"Lisa is not currently available, please leave your message after the censored swearing," a voice said from the thingamajig, followed by a beeping sound.

Proto-Luna clenched her teeth as Maggie walked forward and bluntly pointed out, "Lynn's getting really angry because of Lily's disappearance, and I'll assume that everybody else is doing the same. If you're partially responsible for this, they'll come looking for you, assuming you even have an idea where she is in the first place. All we need you to do is answer one simple question."

Almost through a freaking miracle, Proto-Lisa actually returned the signal to show her standing in the middle of what seemed to be a laboratory, with several test tubes around.

"Do you know what happened to Lily?" Maggie asked.

"Perhaps I do? Perhaps I don't?" Proto-Lisa shrugged. "Perhaps I just went to another dimensions for no reason."

"Dude, give us a straight answer," Proto-Luna hissed. "Otherwise, I'll have to send half of the Sisters on a hunt to find and beat the answer out of you!"

"Ugh, this is why I don't like Lincolnism; they jump to attack anybody who either insults our brother, which I approve, or if they don't get what they want, which I don't approve," the prototype prodigy sighed. "But oh well, I guess I should tell you what I know. You may want to sit down for this one, it's quite a shock."

The prototype priest and emo exchanged looks, then promptly sat down as Proto-Lisa explained soon afterwards:

"Lily's on the new reality, right in Lincoln's womb!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"No!" the guy sighed. "Look, I'm going to go give Lori an important message and I need your son to come with me. He and Lori have a... Connection, of sorts."

"Yeah, it's called one-sided infatuation," Harold nonchalantly pointed out.

"I don't care what it's called, I need him to come with me," Bobby twiddled his fingers. "You see, the information is about Lincoln, and if Lori deserves to know, then so does Clyde."

Howard and Harold exchanged looks, and next thing he knew, Bobby was in front of Clyde's bedroom door. He took a deep breath, entered the room, and said:

"I need to tell you something."


	33. Shocking News

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Luan and Lucy went to the Royal Woods graveyard in order to pay a visit to Haiku and Giggles' tombstones, but while Lucy went to get the trio of Ronnie Anne, Polly Pain, and Tabby, Luan met two unnerving sights: A sad Mrs. DiMartino and Mrs. Shrinivas, and Sam, who promptly started a short brawl between them after she tried to defile the clown girl and poet's tombstones.**

 **However, thanks to an unexpected intervention from none other than Maggie, Luan was saved from a potentially grizzly fate!**

 **As if that wasn't enough, in the original reality, Maggie-after handing Lindsey a new toy-went to Proto-Luna's domain to discover from none other than Proto-Lisa herself, just what happened to the prototype Lily!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Off to Lori and Leni's Cabin! Bobby, Clyde, and Carol, Shocking News Deliverers!**

* * *

 _The Santiago Household, Garage..._

Ronnie sat on top of a speaker, tilting her head to a cheerful tune that Tabby and Polly played in their saxophone and drums, respectively. In particular, Tabby was blowing her saxophone with such intensity and energy, it's as she was feeling bliss from playing the instrument. And seeing how this was the first time she could play it since the destruction of the poetry club, she had her reasons.

However, it wasn't long before Polly and Tabby finished their tune with a blazing finale, and once that was done, the pair sat down and caught their breath before exchanging looks. And eventually, they exchanged smiles as well, feeling happy to share music once more.

"Woohoo!" Ronnie suddenly shouted, clapping her hands as she caught the pair's attention. "Encore! Encore!"

"Maybe another time, Ronnie, I'm exhausted from that short fake concert," Polly replied with a smile. "Now, Tabby, is there something you'd like to tell Ronnie?"

"Yeah, these speakers you got here are really awesome!" Tabby exclaimed, giving the freckled tomboy a thumbs up. "Where did you get them?"

"They were a gift," Ronnie jumped off, went to the little rock star, then showed her a picture of a younger Bobby, alongside another guy, carrying the same speaker she just sat on. "You see, during a trip we had to England, Bobby was hired to be a roadie for some musician whose name I don't remember. He did so well on his job, the speakers were given to him as a gift for when we went back to Royal Woods!"

"I don't believe you!" Tabby replied with a smile.

"Well, yeah, they were a gift from Luna, since she thought Bobby was going to become a musician from the picture I just showed you," Ronnie shrugged. "By the time she realized her mistake, she was confident we would use them one day, so she let us keep them."

Tabby giggled. "That sounds just like something Luna would do."

"Yeah, nice little story," Polly blurted. "Isn't there anything else you wanna tell Ronnie?"

"Right, be sure to turn the speaker up to 11 next time," Tabby told the Hispanic girl. "I assure you, we're going to blow your mind!"

"I hope you mean that figuratively," Ronnie replied.

And just as the duo started to laugh, Polly got up and snapped, "Tabby, thank Ronnie for letting us her garage!"

The laughter stopped right then and there, and seeing where her partner was coming from, the rock star turned back to Ronnie, took a deep breath and said, "Thanks."

"Like you mean it!" Polly stomped.

Surprised by her friend's aggressive demeanor, but again knowing where she was coming from, she said, "Thanks for letting us use your garage for music practice, Ronnie Anne. It felt good to play music again after so long."

Ronnie smiled, "Does this means we're friends now?"

Tabby chuckled. "No, but you're getting there, at least."

Suddenly, Ronnie Anne's phone started to ring, and she promptly took it out and saw it was a message from Luan. "Huh, it's a message from Joker-O," she remarked with slight surprise. "That's my nickname for Luan, by the way."

"You don't seem surprised, does this happen often?" Tabby remarked.

"Yeah, but usually, it's either just a quick update or some teasing about my and Lame-O's relationship," the Hispanic tomboy answered. "This one, though, just says that Lincoln is having some sort of condition-"

"We have to see him immediately, then!" Tabby stated, with Polly nodding in agreement.

"But she also says that I, and anybody else with me, should leave Lincoln to his family for now," Ronnie finished, calming down the musician and roller skater. "Apparently, the condition has made him a bit more emotional, for lack of a better word, than usual, and Luan's worried that if we do one thing wrong, he may get a nervous attack."

"Wow, after everything he's been through, he's only getting emotional now?" Polly raised an eyebrow. "Just what is this condition he's going through?"

"Now that Polly mentioned it, did she tell you what the condition is?" Tabby asked.

"That's the thing; the end of the message says that she's already told Bobby about it, so he can go tell Lori, Leni, and Lynn about it, since they're not living at the house right now," Ronnie answered the message and saved her phone back on her pockets. "Bobby left a while ago to do just that, though he did tell me he was going to go find a certain someone first."

Polly and Tabby exchanged looks, then promptly asked, "Who?"

 _Just in that moment, at the McBride residence..._

Bobby knocked the door three times, then waited until Harold and Howard, Clyde's fathers, opened the door. They were surprisingly friendly with him, almost as if they had met him before.

"Oh hi, Bob," Harold greeted. "It's been such a long time."

"It certainly has been," Bobby and Harold shook hands.

"Are you here for some couple counseling?" Howard inquired.

"No, I still think my former... Lover, is still living elsewhere," Bobby sighed. "Besides, we did kinda part on bad terms-"

Harold promptly put a hand on Bobby's shoulder. "Bobby, again, your former partner moving out of Royal Woods isn't the same as you parting in bad terms."

"But they didn't even tell me about it, the moving just... Happened!" Bobby complained, looking at the ground with a disheartened look. "And we didn't even share a last goodbye, or anything, they just... Left my life, right then and there."

"Are you sure you don't need some couple counseling?" Howard raised an eyebrow.

"No!" the guy sighed. "Look, I'm going to go give Lori an important message and I need your son to come with me. He and Lori have a... Connection, of sorts."

"Yeah, it's called one-sided infatuation," Harold nonchalantly pointed out.

"I don't care what it's called, I need him to come with me," Bobby twiddled his fingers. "You see, the information is about Lincoln, and if Lori deserves to know, then so does Clyde."

Howard and Harold exchanged looks, and next thing he knew, Bobby was in front of Clyde's bedroom door. He took a deep breath, entered the room, and said:

"I need to tell you something."

 _Back at the Santiago garage..._

Ronnie, Tabby, and Polly sat on the ground, telling stories to pass the time.

"So, there was one time when I had to move in with my cousins, the Casagrandes, due to the decision of my mom," Ronnie explained as she put her arms behind her head. "However, because travel between there and her working place was much longer than when we were here, we made a compromise: She, my brother, my cousins, and I, worked together to create an underground passage between there and here, so mom wouldn't have as much trouble getting to work."

"Whoa, wait a minute, you have an underground passage?!" Tabby exclaimed in awe. "Where is it? Can we see it?!"

"Sorry, Tabby, but I promised mom I would only reveal the location of the underground passage to my most trusted friends," Ronnie smugly winked. "And while I could tell Polly where the passage is, I'm kinda worried she might tell you afterwards, so I'm not gonna risk it."

"Well, at least you're not such a moron that you'd ignore basic security measures," Tabby returned the smug wink. "Now you just have to convince me this whole "I'll let you play music in my garage" stint is not some ploy to get me and Polly to become a couple."

Ronnie's smugness immediately vanished, and the young rock star was caught off-guard when the freckled tomboy turned to Polly and bluntly asked, "Polly, what is she talking about?"

Even more shocking was Polly nonchalantly answering, "Back before the poetry club was destroyed, Sam tried to get me and Tabby to become romantically interested in each other by nearly sabotaging our music. I imagine she's still upset about it, so she's being extra careful just to be sure."

"Hehe, I know how that feels: Lame-O's sisters, specially Lori, tried to force us together on several occasions, to the point I was actually pretty glad when I moved and Lincoln got a crush on another girl. When that happened, they shifted their attention to her, poor girl-" suddenly, Ronnie realized something. "Wait, why would she try to get you two romantically interested in each other? You're both girls!"

Polly scratched her chin, then turned to Tabby, who flinched and glanced between the tomboys. Eventually, she took a deep breath and confessed:

"I was hoping I wouldn't need to talk about dad again for some time, but since you want to know, one of the things he tried to drill in my siblings' head-and succeeded at in the case of Sam-was to put in a pro-LGBT mindset, mostly focusing on homosexuals and bisexuals. As in, mostly approve of lesbians, gays, and so on and so fort, and try to "spread the message" to everybody else."

"And you did that how?" Ronnie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Acting like gays, or lesbians, or whatever, and praise and preach about them regardless of actual orientation or beliefs," Tabby muttered. "It basically translates to trying to impose the LGBT mindset on other people, and force random people to become gay or lesbians or something like that, while disregarding what they think about the matter."

Then, Polly came to a conclusion. "So, when Sam sabotaged our music act to get us to become closer-"

"She did it just to follow dad's beliefs, not necessarily because she genuinely wanted to see us together," Tabby looked away. "Or at least, that's a very high possibility, Sam's a massive headache to figure out sometimes."

"So you don't want to become Polly's girlfriend?" Ronnie inquired.

"I never said that," Tabby stated, causing Polly to blush and flinch. "I just don't want it to happen because of Sam or some other outside factor. It has to be our own choice."

"I agree wholeheartedly," Ronnie replied. "There's nothing worse than being forced to love somebody who you only see as a friend at best."

"I assume you speak from experience?" Tabby raised an eyebrow and hummed.

Ronnie's smile promptly turned into a frown and she turned to look at the ground, prompting Tabby to add, "I-If it cheers you up, Ronnie Anne, I'm not going to make you feel bad if you don't end up with Lincoln."

The tomboy smirked and replied, "And I'm never going to ship you with Polly."

"You monster!" Polly and Tabby stated in unison.

And as the duo exchanged surprised looks, Ronnie laughed out loud before adding, "Calm down, girls, I was just joking! I'll just let you see if you wanna be with each other or with some other people, I'm not going to force you two to be together."

Once the clarification had been made evident, Tabby smiled and said, "Thanks, Ronnie Anne."

The tomboy chuckled, and Polly glanced between her musical partner and Hispanic tomboy as she hoped this was the start of Ronnie's road to becoming Tabby's friend.

 _Meanwhile, back at Clyde's bedroom..._

Bobby stood at the door as he watched Clyde reading an Ace Savvy comic book, seemingly unaware of Bobby's presence. "H-Hey, buddy?" Bobby asked as he walked to the dark-skinned geek's side. "Clyde, you there?"

"Oh, this issue is definitely one that Haiku's going to enjoy," Clyde remarked before closing the comic book. "It has everything: A dark atmosphere, a vampiric villain, the only thing missing is-"

"Hey," Bobby uttered to get the boy's attention.

Clyde turned around, and he was surprisingly mellow about the guy's appearance. "Hi Bobby. Are you going to use my room for couple counseling again?"

"Is that the first thing you and your parents think, or was that something I did that often back when... They lived in Royal Woods?!" Bobby snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose as he added, "No, I need you to come with me to go see Leni and Lori."

Clyde raised an eyebrow, but suffered no side effects from hearing Lori's name. "For what reason?"

"Hey, you didn't short circuit or do your little robot jig when I mentioned Lori's name," Bobby remarked in surprise, only to promptly grow worried. "Is something wrong, little buddy?"

"No, I've just been able to get help with that little issue thanks to... A friend of mine," Clyde scratched the back of his head. "So, you say you need me to come with you to deliver some news to Lori?"

"Lori, Leni, and Lynn, to be exact," Bobby nodded. "According to what Lisa told me, those are the only sisters who haven't been informed of Lincoln's... Condition."

"Condition?" Clyde repeated, growing a little bit worried. "What condition?"

Bobby put his hands on his pockets. "Sorry, buddy, but Lisa advised me not to tell you until I've told Lori, Leni, and Lynn first. She was worried that you would run to Lincoln's aid the instant you heard about it, and the last thing he needs right now is to be overwhelmed with attention."

"Huh, for someone who I don't meet that frequently, she sure knows how I would react to certain events," Clyde sighed. "Oh well, let's get this over with and head off to give Lori the message."

"Not yet, little buddy, I still need to get one more companion for this news delivery, one who I believe may know where Lori and Leni are at right now," Bobby smiled. "I'm not sure if you've met her, but don't worry, I can safely tell you that she's perfectly normal compared to what happened a week or so ago."

 _Literally a couple moments later, at the park..._

Bobby and Clyde stood still and watched as Carol suddenly fell from the heavens, or at least the sky, and eventually fell so fast she got set on fire and her crash collision caused a big explosion on the ground, and left a large crater on the ground.

However, once the smoke dispersed, it was revealed Carol was sleeping in the middle of the crater, with barely a couple of scratches on her clothes.

Clyde promptly said, "Bobby, I don't know what's your definition of weird, but I'm pretty certain that Carol falling from the heavens fast enough to get set on fire, then crash hard enough to leave a crater, and after all that only get a couple bruises and nothing else, more than qualifies her as weird."

"She's usually more subtle about it, though," Bobby sighed. "Well, let's go see if she's up to come with us."

The duo walked forth into the crater, where inside it, they saw Carol... Apparently sleeping. Yes, she was sleeping in the middle of a giant crater with seemingly no issue. However, it only took taking another step to wake the girl up, revealing her slightly red-pinkish sclera, denoting tiredness.

"Oh, uh, hello, Carol," Bobby nervously greeted, with Clyde hiding behind his back.

"Bobby," the girl bluntly stated.

The guy took a deep breath. "Listen, Carol-"

"No, you listen," the blonde spat back. "I don't know if you've grown numb to the weirdness around Royal Woods, but I was literally just farted out of the heavens and crash landed into a bed of grass. That, along with the fact I'm exhausted from having to train two particular girls for hours to an end, make me want to go hit the hay and forget it all happened, so you better have a good reason to need my help!"

"She's a lot less nicer than you said she was," Clyde scoffed.

"She's just grumpy, that's all," Bobby replied, then turned to the girl. "Listen, Carol, we need to go to Lori and Leni's cabin in order to give them an important message. Do you know where it is, and if you do, can you take us there?"

"Of course, I used to live there," Carol answered. "However, I'm not certain if they'd be happy to pay them an unexpected visit. Mostly Lori, since I know Leni doesn't really mind."

Carol narrowed her eyes. "However, we should go there as fast as we can. Knowing how Lynn has become the black sheep of the Louds, who knows what sort of horror Lori and Leni are subjecting her to as we speak."

 _In that moment, at Lori and Leni's cabin's kitchen..._

Lynn was suffering quite possibly the worst fate imaginable for an athlete of her caliber. A fate so horrible, even the most fit of jocks and athletes dreaded of it's mere existence!

She had to make breakfast herself! And she wasn't allowed to use any meat!

"Come on, guys, cut me some slack!" Lynn whined for the hundred time. "Let me cook some meat for breakfast, please!"

"Lynn, we already told you that meat isn't something you eat with pancakes," Leni shouted from the living room. She was sitting next to Lori at the couch, as they watched some television.

"Why do I have to make pancakes?!" the jock growled. "Can't I make sandwiches instead? Preferrably some that reach the ceiling?"

"We don't have enough bread to do that," Lori answered, focusing solely on the television. "And besides, you have to learn that sometimes you have to eat things without meat."

Lynn whined once more, "And what if I don't want to?!"

Lori raised her fist. "Then you got a double order of knuckle sandwiches coming right up!"

Lynn stuttered as she retorted, "L-L-Leni would never l-let you do that!"

Prompting the injured Loud to add, "If it gets you to stop being so stubborn, then I'll allow it!"

The jock groaned in defeat. "Fine, I'll make pancakes!"

"Thanks, sweetie!" Leni replied with a giggle. "It's so nice of Lynn to make breakfast for us, isn't it?"

"Yeah, though it would be nicer if she stopped complaining about the lack of meat. I mean, that's the 6th time she's complained!" Lori sighed. "I mean, she never complained that much back at the house, or at least, she didn't do it right in our faces!"

"She's just trying to establish a tough facade due to suddenly changing households," the fashionista pointed out, leaning her head against Lori's shoulder. "Trust me, once she grows comfortable enough, she'll stop acting like a little brat."

Suddenly, Lynn called, "Lori, can you come help me? I'm not sure whether to bath the pancakes in butter or syrup!"

"Something tells me that's going to take a while," Lori got up and put her hands on her pockets as she headed to help Lynn. "I'm coming, Lynn, don't do anything stupid!"

The young woman stopped, then added, "Come to think of it, don't do anything at all!"

Leni could only giggle as she watched Lori help Lynn with the pancakes. It almost looked like a father helping her daughter learn how to cook for the first time.

 _Back with Carol, Bobby, and Clyde..._

The boys clung to Carol as she flew down and landed in front of the cabin, with Bobby taking a short look as Carol knocked the door thrice. "So, this is where Lori, Leni, and supposedly Lynn are living at right now, huh?" he remarked. "Looks like a pretty nice place."

"I know, and I'm glad that was also the case back when... I lived here," Carol replied, growing hesitant on the "I lived here" part.

"By the way, Carol, do you mind me asking you an off-topic question?" Clyde inquired before asking the question anyway, "You went through friction or something while you were falling to the ground, right? I can kinda understand how you didn't suffer any damage, I just assume you have pretty tough skin, but why didn't your clothes evaporate or burn up?"

Carol remained silent as she thought about it, and without warning, Carol's clothes turned into ash, leaving her completely naked. And while Bobby and Clyde reacted appropriately-freaking out and covering their eyes-Carol just looked at her nude body and uttered "oh" just as Leni and Lori answered the door.

Likewise, Leni covered her mouth and flinched, while Lori didn't even react to the sight. "You went through atmospheric re-entry again?" Lori nonchalantly asked.

Carol nodded.

"Did it happen right away?" Leni inquired.

Carol shook her head, then pointed at Clyde, "They only turned into ash when the boy with the crush on Lori pointed out."

"Fair enough, come in," Lori threw a glare at the guys' direction. "That includes you, Bobby and Clyde!"

The trio went inside, and Lynn lead Carol to her bedroom as Lori and Leni sat on a three-person couch, while Bobby and Clyde sat on another one, this one made for two persons. "We figured you were coming, so Lynn and I took out another couch for you to sit on," Lori explained, narrowing her eyes as she added. "I didn't think you were going to bring Carol with you, though."

"Well, how else would we figure out where you lived?" Bobby sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of his head. "Also, I'm sorry for not stopping Clyde before he pointed out that stuff about Carol's clothes."

"It's okay, at least you were nice enough to cover your eyes," Leni replied with a reassuring smile. "Besides, when this happens for the 12th or so time, you'll grow numb to it, just as Carol."

"Hold it, this has happened before?" Clyde asked in surprise. "The "clothes evaporating the instant that's pointed out" thing."

"Oh of course, she just went through what is known as the centipede dilemma," Leni answered before explaining thus. "You see, a centipede can move around with it's hundred or so tiny little legs, right? However, the dilemma says that once the centipede starts to question how it's even moving so easily, it will suddenly forget how to walk."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Bobby asked, earning an "are you serious?" look from Clyde.

"Something that is not supposed to work will work as long as you don't point out the issue," Lori grossly oversimplified. "For example, Leni will continue talking like a normal person and not like her usual bubbly self as long as I don't point it out."

Leni promptly said, "Has anybody, like, wondered if zebra would look better inside or outside the cabin?"

Lori giggled, "See what I mean?"

"Yeah, now I do," Bobby chuckled. "You seem to be in a surprisingly good mood today, Lori."

The young woman sighed. "I'm just trying to savor this nice time we have before Carol ends up seeing what her bedroom has become."

"What the hell happened to my room!?" Carol yelled from afar.

Lori took a deep breath and grimaced as Leni blurted, "Too late?"

 _A little bit later..._

Carol returned, wearing a pair of Lynn's clothes, which caught the attention of everybody; primarily because the small size of the clothes-for obvious reasons-made Carol show off a bit more skin than her "mothers" were probably comfortable with. Mostly Leni.

"Lori, didn't you save a pair of Carol's clothes in our room?" Leni asked, giving her older sister a disapproving look. "You know that the difference between Carol and Lynn's clothes sizes is... Significant."

"I did, I just thought it would be better if she got a wardrobe change for once," Lori chuckled, causing Carol to fume as she stomped her way to the couch. "I mean, you got to admit that outfit she wears everyday gets tiresome to look at after a while."

"Still, why doesn't she just wear your or Leni's clothes instead?" Lynn pointed out, with Leni nodding in agreement. "I have no problem with her wearing my clothes, but she definitely does, and it looks rather tight on her."

Carol sat down on top of Bobby's groin, earning a look of disapproval from Lori, "So, what is the little jock jerk doing here?" she asked, shooting a glare at Lynn. "Last time we met, I threw her right back to her house with a punch."

"Yeah, about that, things got pretty heated since the intervention, so she'll be staying with us for a while until things calm down," Leni brushed Lynn's hair, with the jock blushing and looking away as the fashionista explained. "We figured it would be beneficial for both our sisters and Lynn, since we'll manage to iron out any issues she presently has that may make her... Not easy to get along, basically."

"So we waited until the time was right, then knocked her out and took her here," Lori bluntly added.

"...So, if I understand this correctly," Carol started, her tone clearly showing her disapproval of Lynn's presence. "Shortly after the intervention between Lynn and Polly, you two basically kidnapped her not long afterwards, and now she's going to be living with you until things calm down back at the house?"

"That's one way to look at it," Lori remarked, rolling her eyes.

"That's literally the only way to look at it!" Carol snapped, causing Lori to flinch. "I can understand you wanting to take Lynn away from home for a couple of days, after all, that's the only way things are going to get better quickly enough, but did you seriously have to kidnap her?!"

"Hey, knowing Lynn, she probably would've tried to fight back and wouldn't let Lori or Leni explain themselves," Bobby argued, folding his arms.

"Well, perhaps they could've tried to talk to her first, and only kidnap her as a last resort!" Clyde argued back. "There was no need to immediately kidnap her!"

"Okay, I think we got a bit too sidetracked there," Lynn blurted. "Yes, they kidnapped, that's wrong, but weren't you supposed to tell us something?"

"Oh right, something that you all should know," Bobby took a deep breath and explained, "Well, apparently Lisa managed to find something interesting, yet frightening, after analyzing Lincoln's blood. You see, he's been suffering from stomach pain or something like that since he drank something yesterday, and according to Lisa's analysis... Well, your family may be getting bigger in a week or so."

"Ugh, what have mom and dad been up to this time?!" Lori complained, rubbing her forehead. "Are eleven kids not enough for them?! I mean sure, Lynn, Leni, and I have moved out, but that still leaves about eight kids to look after!"

"Lori, this new member has nothing to do with your parents," Bobby corrected. "In fact, this new member has to do with Lincoln, since... Well, he's pregnant."

With the sudden revelation came a sudden silence as everybody other than Bobby tried to process what the guy just revealed: Lynn covered her mouth and seemingly tried to avoid puking all over the carpet, Leni's jaw dropped and she blinked twice, Carol flinched hard enough to make the couch go up, then down, Clyde grabbed his head, and Lori... Shot a glare at her boyfriend.

"Bobby, you better not be screwing with us," Lori sternly warned. "Pregnancy is not something the Loud family takes lightly."

"Hey, I was just sent here to give you the message," the guy shrugged. "You don't have to believe me, but you can go back home if you want to confirm it. Try to go alone, though, Linc's apparently been getting more emotional lately and he might suffer an emotional breakdown if too many people go see him at once."

"By too many people, do you mean starting from two?" Lori raised an eyebrow. "'Cause Carol and Clyde are probably on their way to meet him as we speak."

Bobby took a look around and saw that Carol and Clyde were nowhere to be seen, bringing him to one conclusion: They were on their way to the Loud house to check up on Lincoln. And wouldn't you know, Clyde and Carol were exactly doing that: Flying high in the skies towards the Loud house.

"Come on, Carol, go faster! We need to see if Lincoln's really pregnant or not!" Clyde exclaimed.

Carol narrowed her eyes. "No need to tell me twice!"

And so the girl sped up, going further until they made a little twinkle in the sky.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

The biker trio-Cindy, Mindy, and Pravuil, formerly Ronnie-sat outside the church, eyeing their Lincolnist uniforms: A blue robe with orange highlights, and a symbol around the middle of the sides; A diamond for Cindy, a wrench for Mindy, and a rectangle for Pravuil.

"I can't believe we can't enter the church without putting these on first," Cindy sighed. "Doesn't High Sister Luna realize that putting these on, then taking them off to go do our stuff, only to put them back on to get back in is really annoying?"

"Well, you have to remember that she didn't establish the rules, Sweet Feet was the one to do it in order to give us a chance of salvation," Mindy argued in return. "Besides, you know the church's motto."

"The mothers' words are divine, but the father's words are absolute," Pravuil interrupted, catching her friends' attention. "Unless Lincoln himself rewrites the rules or tell us what to do, we have to follow the established rules."

Suddenly, Pravuil's phone rang, and she answered it to see it was Polly Pain calling her.

"It's Sweet Wheels!"


	34. Organized Belief

**I just realized something: I haven't really said what sort of timeline Chains of Reality is supposed to be in. And that would be pretty tricky right now, 'cause Ronnie Anne is living in Royal Woods rather than with the Casagrandes, Clyde has apparently worked his issues with Lori which, let's be honest, they're going to milk that running gag dry (if they haven't already) so it probably isn't ending anytime soon...**

 **Let's just say Chains of Reality takes place after the entirety of the series (maybe even the movie) and let's move on, alright?**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, not much happened since the fiasco at the graveyard, at least in Ronnie's side: She hunt out with Tabby and Polly, and took the first step to become Tabby's friend.**

 **However, a shocker came when Bobby, accompanied by Carol and Clyde, gave some shocking news to Lori, Leni, and Lynn: Lincoln was seemingly pregnant! These news were so shocking, Carol and Clyde went off to find out the truth for themselves.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: Time for Defensive Brainstorming! A Prayer for the Eternal Mother-Father!**

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Royal Woods Defense Forces, Lynn Sr. and Rita were at their office, where a large monitor flashed "Impregnation Confirmed" in bold letters. And to be specific, Lynn Sr. was looking at the monitor with worry, while Rita walked back and forth, seemingly going through a mix of worry and annoyance.

"Of course, this is just what we needed!" Rita snapped. "First, at least a kid gets kidnapped and some more people nearly get hurt when the progenitor twins attacked, then progenitor Lucy pops out of nowhere, two kids end up dead, and a teenager gets kidnapped, and now-!"

"Darling, I know you're very upset about this discovery, but shouting it out loud won't make anything better," Lynn Sr. told his wife, who shot a glare at him. "If you do have to say it, at least it quietly so nobody hears it."

"...Lincoln is pregnant with the next progenitor," Rita whispered, only to promptly shout. "Why did it have to happen so soon?!"

"Sweetie, panicking won't help us either," the man walked to his wife and put a hand on her shoulder. "Look, try to stay positive, okay? As long as-"

"Lynn Sr. and Rita Loud, Mrs. Shrinivas, Mrs. DiMartino, and Mrs. Johnson have officially arrived at the organization," spoke a mechanical voice through the loudspeaker. "Please head off to Mrs. DiMartino's station right away."

Rita frowned, and as the couple walked to the office, the woman yelled to the heavens, "Great, as if things couldn't get worse, they do get worse before you get to finish your sentence! Every time we're told to go to DiMartino's station, she always gives us bad news, whether it's about our questionable parenthood or Lisa's condition!"

"Well, as a mother herself, she holds some advice that could help us in the long run," Lynn Sr. argued, trying to stay positive. "And besides, she is the only neurosurgeon in the organization-"

"Which I still find to be complete nonsense!" Rita snapped, rubbing her forehead. "I just can't believe a childish child-woman like her managed to reach such a profession!"

Lynn Sr. rolled his eyes as he thought, " _You're one to talk, darling._ "

The pair reached the front of the door to DiMartino's entrance, but for some reason, the two simply felt that going inside... Would be something they would regret. Not that they didn't regret the last couple of times they've been there, but this time, it felt... Different.

"So, who will be the bait this time?" Rita nonchalantly asked. "How about the vending machine over there?"

"I really don't think we need to do the bait thing this time," Lynn Sr. replied, only to realize something. "Besides, why would you use the vending machine as bait? That doesn't make any sense."

"Can you blame me? I'm a woman! We're irrational like that!" Rita laughed out loud. "But speaking seriously, it really feels like we need some sort of bait to see if we should be extra careful today."

"Hmm... I doesn't feel that way to me," Lynn grabbed his wife's hand. "Let's just go inside and see how things go, alright?"

Rita remained silent, then looked away before the duo entered and were met with a stern, but seemingly fair glare from Mrs. DiMartino.

"Good to see you didn't take your sweet time coming here, Louds," the woman stated, clasping her fingers. "Take a seat."

The Louds hesitated, prompting DiMartino to slam her fists down her desk and yell, "Take a fucking seat!"

"Woah, she swore!" Lynn Sr. gasped. "That means she's serious."

"No kidding," Rita and her husband sat down, and the woman tried to speak. "So, what did you-"

However, she was promptly shot down when Mrs. DiMartino put down some documents, which were apparently about Lisa. "After checking your daughter's blood as you asked me, these were the results of the analysis."

The couple checked the results as the Hispanic woman promptly explained, "As I had feared, and as I warned you before, the chemicals from that little experiment Lisa worked on a long time have further progressed the degeneration of her brain capacities. Before, this simply was presented as a lowered ability to feel empathy and ridiculous goals, but now, she's positively poisoned."

"Well-" Lynn Sr. blurted.

"I'm not finished," Mrs. DiMartino interrupted, shutting up the man. "Alongside progressive degeneration in empathetic capabilities, her ability to differentiate reality and fiction have worsened: Now she positively believes she can create a functional giant robot out of the junk she's been gathering!"

Then she nonchalantly added, "Also, you have done nothing about the giant collection of junk she calls a giant robot, have you?"

"We don't need to, and you basically summarized why: It's a giant collection of junk," Rita rolled her eyes. "And even if Lisa managed to make it functional, it still would be nothing compared to what this organization's own giant robot!"

And then, Lynn Sr. asked, "Why do you even bring that up, anyway?"

DiMartino took a deep breath, clasped her fingers, then sternly asked: "Rita, Lynn. You have done absolutely nothing about your second youngest daughter's condition, have you?"

Rita and Lynn Sr. looked at the ground, but failed to answer, not knowing what to say. Or at least, what to say that wouldn't anger DiMartino even more. "You do know that if this continues, we'll be left no choice but to... Get rid of Lisa, right?" she added.

The parents flinched and gasped in horror. "You seriously still believe that's the only way we can deal with her condition?!" Rita asked with a stern tone.

"We would have other options if you had been responsible and actually attempted to cure Lisa from the start!" Mrs. DiMartino spat, only to calm down and sternly add, with subtle disappointment in her tone. "But, I assume you simply didn't care. Otherwise, I would have to believe you two were a pair of brain-dead idiots who decided to reproduce for the hell of it, without taking into account the responsibility of your actions."

Then, she narrowed her eyes. "And, for some reason, I believe I'm partially true."

"DiMartino, I know the situation is serious, but still, you always at least tried to put on a smile and be optimistic about the whole thing," Lynn Sr. pointed out, taking a step towards the ticked off woman. "What happened that made you this angry?"

"I lost my daughter, suddenly and unexpectedly, in a manner that I didn't see coming and I really wish I could've prevented somehow," DiMartino bluntly stated, narrowing her eyes and forming a pair of fists as she continued. "You, however, have known about Lisa's condition for months, almost half a year by now! You've had nothing but time to try and get it fixed! And instead, you ignored the issue-"

"We've been busy, DiMartino!" Rita snapped, but the Hispanic woman didn't even flinch. "We've had to work our butts off for almost a month in order to provide adequate defenses against the progenitors! Do you think it's easy to balance that and taking care of our children?!"

However, DiMartino's answer was... Fairly blunt:

"The issue existed long before you worked for this organization. Long before you could've been this "busy," as you say. During that time, you had nothing but chances to get Lisa tested, and eventually cured, of her condition. And yet, you focused on everything _but_ helping her. And now, her condition has become critical. She just has to feel a lot of stress, or even grow a little bit nuts, in order for it to become completely incurable."

Suddenly, Mrs. Shrinivas and Mrs. Johnson butt in. "Rita, Lynn, DiMartino, we need you at the conference room, right now!" the redheaded woman stated.

"We discovered some disturbing information about Lincoln," Shrinivas added, catching Rita and Lynn Sr.'s attention. "We're going to try brainstorming for ideas to defend Royal Woods against whatever cataclysm is coming!"

The trio nodded and Shrinivas and Johnson ran off to the conference room. And before DiMartino followed them, she walked past the couple and threw a glare at their direction, prompting the pair to flinch, then exchange worried looks before going to the conference room as well.

 _At the church of Lincolnism..._

The biker trio-Cindy, Mindy, and Pravuil, formerly Ronnie-sat outside the church, eyeing their Lincolnist uniforms: A blue robe with orange highlights, and a symbol around the middle of the sides; A diamond for Cindy, a wrench for Mindy, and a rectangle for Pravuil.

"I can't believe we can't enter the church without putting these on first," Cindy sighed. "Doesn't High Sister Luna realize that putting these on, then taking them off to go do our stuff, only to put them back on to get back in is really annoying?"

"Well, you have to remember that she didn't establish the rules, Sweet Feet was the one to do it in order to give us a chance of salvation," Mindy argued in return. "Besides, you know the church's motto."

"The mothers' words are divine, but the father's words are absolute," Pravuil interrupted, catching her friends' attention. "Unless Lincoln himself rewrites the rules or tell us what to do, we have to follow the established rules."

Suddenly, Pravuil's phone rang, and she answered it to see it was Polly Pain calling her.

"It's Sweet Wheels!" the biker trio hid their robes and Pravuil promptly answered the call, "Sorry for not calling you earlier, ma'am, we've been busy for a while now and we completely forgot we were under your-"

"It's okay, I forgot about this thing too," Polly chuckled. "Anyway, I was wondering if you were going to go pay Lincoln a visit."

"You mean Sweet Feet?" Mindy corrected.

"...Yes, him." Polly sighed. "Ronnie just got a message from one of his sisters. Apparently, he's suffering some sort of condition that makes him more emotionally sensitive, so I don't recommend going to meet him."

"Did the message tell you what was the condition?" Cindy inquired.

"No, in fact, the message told Ronnie to go tell her brother, Bobby, to get the message in order to deliver it to his remaining sisters, Lori, Leni, and... Lynn," Polly hesitated at the third name. "As for us, we're still in the dark, and I told you just to let you know that it's not a good idea to visit him right now."

"Thanks for telling us, Sweet Wheels," Pravuil replied in relief. "We'll let you know if anything happens."

"Same thing, see ya."

Pravuil and Polly hung up, and it wasn't long before Mindy asked, "So, are we going to tell High Sister Luna about this?"

"We have to," the biker leader nodded, and promptly put on her robe. "You know that she likes to be on date with news concerning the eternal father. Besides, seeing how she has a lot of weird powers and such, I'm pretty sure we can discover what's up with Sweet Feet if we just ask her."

Cindy and Mindy put on their robes, then asked in unison, "Will she be willing to tell us, though?"

The trio walked to the door and stood still in front of it, eyeing it with caution as Pravuil answered:

"Only one way to find out."

 _Back at the RWDF Headquarters, Conference Room..._

A certain number of members of the organization sat around a large, oval-shaped table, with a monitor screen in the middle, showing constantly static.

The first member was Coach Pacowski, who eyed the ticked off Mrs. DiMartino before turning to Mrs. Johnson. "So, what's up with DiMartino?"

"That's a good question, but not one I'm interested in answering," Mrs. Johnson nonchalantly answered, before turning to the Loud parents, who were sitting at the opposite end. "A much better question would be, what's up with Rita and Lynn?"

"Well, we just received an important notification that something big happened to their son, Lincoln," Shrinivas, who sat between Johnson and DiMartino, "Pehaps they're worried about it? Now, what it is-"

"Lincoln's pregnant," Mrs. DiMartino bluntly answered. "With Progenitor Lily."

Everybody else freaked out, with Mr. Grouse-who was sitting next to the Loud couple-even clutching his chest as if he had a heart attack!

"W-We don't have confirmation it is Progenitor Lily, only that he's pregnant!" Lynn Sr. quickly corrected. "So, let's not jump into conclusions, okay?"

"Even if we don't jump into conclusions, that doesn't change the fact he's breaking the laws of biology!" Mrs. Johnson exclaimed, slamming her fist on the table. "You know that can only mean one thing: He's going to awaken his omnipotence!"

"I know, we all have known about that for years now," Rita sighed, clasping her hands. "However, I'm confident that we'll be able to avert the extreme collateral damage that could ensue-"

"Minimizing collateral damage is the least of our worries!" Mr. Grouse replied, also slamming his fist. "Once he awakens his omnipotence, he won't know how to control them! And the only thing more dangerous than an omnipotent Lincoln, is an omnipotent Lincoln who can't even control his powers!"

Rita slammed her hands on the table. "Grouse, think positive for once, would you?!"

Followed by Mrs. Shrinivas doing the same. "We would be able to think positive if this news didn't mean the worst outcome was certainly going to happen!"

And then Lynn Sr. "We still have a small chance to avert that outcome!"

Mr. Grouse slammed his hands down again. "It wouldn't be so small if your approach to your "children" wasn't so hands off!"

Rita slammed her fists down again. "You're in our neighborhood too! You could've helped-!"

Mrs. Johnson slammed her fist, then pointed at Rita. "As the designated parents, it's your responsibility to take care of your "children!"

Lynn Sr. slammed his fist once more. "We got over ten children to look after! Do you think it's easy to watch over all of them!?"

Shrinivas... Well, you can guess at this point. "Well, maybe you shouldn't have had more kids than you can handle in the first place!"

Cue Rita's response, "Not that bullshit again!"

And Mrs. Johnson went next, "Yes, that bullshit again!"

"Fist slamming!" Mrs. DiMartino yelled at the top of her lungs before slamming both of her fists down the table, causing her part to break apart and send cracks to the rest of the table, though not enough to break it into smithereens. And once all the stares were looking at DiMartino, the woman shrunk, "I'm sorry, I... Got caught up in the moment."

Suddenly, the static-filled screen of the monitor glitched... And showed a blank space, with lines moving as somebody spoke, "Finally, this stupid piece of junk works! So, is everybody here already? We have urgent things to discuss-"

Suddenly, Catherine Butterfly, the reporter lady of Royal Woods, barged into the room. "I'm here!" the reporter exclaimed. "I'm sorry for arriving late, I had to take care of something elsewhere."

"Yeah, tell us something we don't know, slowpoke," the voice on the monitor snarled as the reporter sat next to Rita. "Now, for the first thing we'll discuss is the recent developments found by the Loud couple. Then, we'll discuss what we're going to do in order to deal with it. Afterwards, everybody will return to their normal duties. Understood?"

The members stated "yes" in unison, and the voice followed, "Alright then. Rita, Lynn, your information, please."

The couple nervously exchanged looks, and Rita promptly said, "A-Alright, so, we found out that Lincoln is pregnant with an unknown lifeform-"

"Progenitor Lily, in fact," the voice suddenly confirmed. "I have checked the database, and because of the sudden disappearance of Progenitor Lily in the original reality, there is only one logical conclusion. I'm very sure you all know what it is, so let's throw this topic into the garbage bin and go to the second topic at hand. Do you agree, Mr. and Mrs. Loud?"

Everybody threw looks at the couple, who just somberly said "yes" in defeat. "Fair enough, let's begin right away," the voice said, and the monitor moved to "stare" at the collective members. "Who would like to give their suggestion first?"

"I know, let's go up to the progenitor sisters and ask them to leave us alone," Mr. Grouse suggested, earning "are you serious?" looks from everybody. "Or better yet, ask them to help Lincoln deliver the baby!"

"Yeah, Grouse, did you forget what happened last time we tried talking with them?" Mrs. Shrinivas pointed out. "We had to give a collective funeral to 30% of the organization's militia!"

Followed by Mrs. Johnson adding, "And then we had to bury them in the Graveyard Dimension to prevent the progenitors from reviving them as chain breakers."

"Oh... Right..."

"Mr. Grouse, you have failed to give us an appropriate, or even useful, suggestion to fix this problem," the voice deadpanly-yet also sternly-told the old man. "You may no longer provide suggestions for this topic. Failure to obey this simple rule will result in random children being dropped to ruin your lawn."

"Not my lawn!" the old man exclaimed. "I'm always telling kids to stay away from it!"

"I'm only giving you the ultimatum, it's your choice whether your lawn pays the prize or not," the monitor "eyed" the whole conference room again. "Who would like to state their opinion next? Remember, put some effort in making your suggestion useful."

"Um, I got an idea," Catherine blurted, catching everybody's attention. "How about I give Lincoln a little interview to find out how he feels about this situation?"

"Catty, that's a terrible idea!" Lynn Sr. spoke up. "Lincoln's now even more emotionally sensitive than before! If you say one wrong thing, he could suffer a meltdown!"

"Actually, after analyzing the suggestion itself, I don't see reason how it could go wrong," the voice in the monitor remarked. "By allowing him to speak his true feelings, Lincoln can relax and rest with no secrets weighing him down. And if the reporter were to say something wrong, he can always just kill her."

Naturally, Catherine was surprised by the last part. "W-Woah, wait just a minute-"

"Reporter Catherine, you now have the responsibility to perform an interview with Lincoln," the monitor turned to the reporter. "Failure to accomplish this task will result in you being sent to another dimension."

Catherine smiled. "That doesn't sound so bad-"

"With no possible way of returning to the main dimension."

The reporter fell silent. "Anybody, please give another suggestion."

Rita smiled and took out some blueprints. "Okay, this is just a work in-progress, but Lynn and I managed to come up with a weapon idea that may turn the tide to our favor!"

She rolled out the blueprints, revealing some sword-like weapons, as she explained, "Sword-like weapons, dubbed Loud Slayers, that are powered by the primordial blood Lincoln and the progenitors possess. This will allow us to actually hurt them hard enough to make it actually matter!"

Mrs. DiMartino scoffed, but she was shocked when Mrs. Johnson spoke, "You know what? That's not a bad idea. We do need to produce something to help us combat the incoming judgement, so the Loud Slayers should be put into production immediately."

Luckily, Mrs. Shrinivas pointed out a major flaw, "Only problem is, we need to get the fuel first, and if the fuel is primordial blood, there are very few sources where we can get, and technically, only one that is safe to get."

"No problem, you can just put up your pretty little exosuits and go to the original reality," Lynn Sr. added, with his wife nodding in agreement. "Once you're there, you paralyze the progenitor sisters and take some of their blood!"

DiMartino eyed her fellow teachers as she hoped they wouldn't be stupid enough to agree to the plan. Sadly, Mrs. Johnson proved her wrong, "It's a little bit risky, but then again, so are all of our plans."

"In that case-"

"Wait!" DiMartino yelled at the top of her lungs. "You can't be serious! They haven't even told us their role yet! I mean, what are they going to do while the three of us go out there, risking our lives!?"

"We're going to stay here and do a test run on some of the equipment to make sure it's in top notch condition," Lynn Sr. answered. "That way, when the birth does happen, we can go and minimize the damage done to the city."

Rita folded her arms. "That should be enough, right?"

"No! That's not enough!" DiMartino flailed her arms up and down. "It's! Not! Enough!"

"DiMartino, darling, calm down!" Shrinivas exclaimed.

"Shut up, Shrinivas! I'm not going to calm down until these two assholes feel the weight of responsibility crushing them!" DiMartino smirked and pointed at the couple... With her middle finger. "Which is why _I_ suggest that the Louds, those two Louds over there, are held responsible for _everything_ that happens during Lincoln's pregnancy! The baggage, the trauma, the collateral damage, everything!"

Everybody else gasped, with Shrinivas even shouting "DiMartino" in shock... While the monitor didn't even react. In fact, they seemed to be lost in thought.

"Be held responsible for everything?!" Lynn Sr. exclaimed in disbelief. "Okay, making us responsible for Lisa's condition and Lincoln getting pregnant, I can get that, but everything else?!"

Rita snapped, "That doesn't make any sense!"

"Hey, can you blame me? I'm a woman! We're irrational like that!" DiMartino folded her arms. "Isn't that right, Rita? Hmmm?"

The woman grit her teeth as she thought, " _You little punk, throwing my words back at me!_ "

"I agree with DiMartino," the voice on the monitor stated. "When the new reality was made, Rita and Lynn Senior were given the occupation of parents for a reason. And their incompetence is certainly impressive, in the worst sense of the word."

"We are competent parents!" Rita vehemently denied.

"There's almost a whole month's worth of evidence pointing to the contrary," the monitor coldly corrected. "And nearly _seventeen years_ worth of conclusive evidence."

The parents fell silent.

"Therefore, the teacher trio shall now be responsible of gathering the fuel for the Loud Slayers, while the Loud couple will be both responsible for building and testing the equipment, and minimize the collateral damage. Punishments shall be declared at another time. Have I been understood?"

Everybody said "yes," although Rita did take the time to shoot a glare at DiMartino, who just smirked in victory. These two probably wouldn't be on good terms anytime soon.

 _Meanwhile, inside the Church of Lincolnism..._

The biker trio entered the main hall of the church, where prayers usually took place, and walked forth to Proto-Luna, who was standing in the middle of the building, like usual. However, alongside her was Proto-Luan, who apparently talked to her about something until they saw the trio arrive.

"Sister Luna-" then they realized who they were talking with. "And Sister Luan?! W-W-W-What brings you here, oh great-"

"Mock me with your flattery any further and I won't hesitate to cut your tongues myself!" Proto-Luan hissed. "It's not even appropriate, 'cause if I remember right."

Proto-Luan pointed at Cindy. "You're a Sister of Fashion."

Then Mindy. "You're a Sister of Beasts."

And finally, Pravuil. "And you're a Sister of Communication."

"Speaking of communication, I didn't see you or hear either of you during the morning prayer," Proto-Luna added, narrowing her eyes. "Just to make sure I'm not missing something, were you unable to attend for whatever reason, or did you just blend between your brothers and sister?"

"W-Well, the truth is, we tried to enter this morning after we delivered some newspapers, but since we forgot to put on our robes, Margo closed the door without letting us explain ourselves!" Pravuil explained, with Cindy and Mindy nodding in unison. "Even when we put on our robes afterwards, she refused to let us in!"

"Ha, stubborness! Classic flaw of a Sister of Competition," Proto-Luan shook her head. "I'll make sure to convince Lynn to discipline her when I leave."

Proto-Luna shot a "sure you will" smug look at her sister. "Anyway, what brings you three here?"

Pravuil took a deep breath. "We just received some information from Sweet Wheels, also known as Polly Pain-"

Only for Proto-Luna to interrupt, "Then I sure hope this new information isn't just a bunch of lies, since lies and misinformation hurt the lord and savior, and you know what's the punishment for verbally hurting the lord."

Then, the two proto-sisters leaned down and said in unison. "Or is it that, you want to have tongues like ours?"

Proto-Luna and Proto-Luan promptly revealed their stitched, segmented tongues at the trio, who winced and hit the ground as the duo retracted their tongues. Though, they did manage to notice that Proto-Luna's tongue had more segments than Proto-Luan's.

"Relax, scaredy cats! We're just joking!" Proto-Luan cackled like a maniac for a moment, only to turn serious and bluntly add, with an angry glare. "To an extent, anyway."

"Dear sister, I believe this is no longer a private matter just between us," Proto-Luna stated. "I must stay to attend my duties, while you must go back to our home. We will discuss the trial for "her" at a later date."

"Alright then, I see no problem with that," Proto-Luan shoot a portal out of her shirt's flower. "See you later, sis. I'm going to go take out all this pent-up anger on that brat named Maggie."

With that said, Proto-Luna bowed and her comedic sister left the building, leaving the proto-priest to deal with the trio alone. "Alright..." Proto-Luna turned to the trio. "What is this alarming information you found out?"

"Sweet Wheels told us that Sweet Feet is suffering from a condition that makes him more emotionally sensitive," Cindy answered. "Apparently, he got it after drinking some lavender liquid."

"Hmm... Perhaps this has something to do with what that little scientific douchebag of Lisa did to Lily," Proto-Luna pondered. "You say this condition has made him more emotionally sensitive?"

"Well, yeah," Pravuil confirmed. "Do you have any idea what this means?"

"The lord is pregnant," was Proto-Luna's blunt answer. And just as the trio raised eyebrows in confusion, she promptly explained, "Before the original reality fell apart, our lord and savior was in the process of giving birth to Lily. You see, while our fertility was more than capable of bringing children, the lord felt it was unfair that only we sisters gave birth, so he gave Lincoln a womb, and impregnated him thanks to some mysterious procedure."

"Mysterious procedure?" the trio repeated.

"None of us were present, so we don't know how he got pregnant." Proto-Luna sighed. "Some believe he impregnated himself. Some believe it was one big coincidence. Eitherway, he got pregnant with Lily, and was in the middle of giving birth to her when the reality fell apart. With that done, Lily was incomplete, yet very much alive."

"Dang, that's harsh," Pravuil said, while her friends tried hard not to think about it. "But why would the creator of everything give birth to Lincoln moments before the reality got corrupted?"

Proto-Luna chuckled. "Who says I'm talking about the creator of everything?"

The trio stopped right in front of an image of Lincoln, holding Proto-Lily in his arms while the other proto-sisters sat nearby.

"But that's besides the point!" Proto-Luna raised her arms. "This is a time of rejoice! Finally the whole set of sisters will be complete, and as the prophecy states, the birth of Lily shall awaken Lincoln's long forgotten powers! He'll return to being the god this world deserves!"

"Um, pardon the question, High Sister Luna," the biker leader blurted. "But what prophecy are you talking about?"

"...Pravuil, your purpose as a Sister of Communication is to be up to date, and make sure other members are equally up to date," Proto-Luna turned to the girl with a smile. "This is why I have an important mission for you. A little while ago, one of our most important Sisters, a Sister-Lover went to play her favorite game in the arcade, and she has yet to return. I need you to go to the arcade, and inform her of this new information."

"And convince her to come back to the church?" Mindy added.

"...No, the Sister-Lover I'm talking about is one of the most stubborn," Proto-Luna sighed. "Trying to convince her to leave her games is like trying to convince our counterparts not to eat chocolate: Once they get going, nothing can really stop them."

She looked at the ground with contempt. "Much to our detriment."

"Okay, so, I go tell this Sister-Lover about the information," Pravuil recapped. "What am I supposed to do next?"

"Everything at it's given time, pravuil, do your task first, then I'll tell you what to do," Proto-Luna crouched and put a hand on Mindy and Cindy. "And before you ask, your friends will help me gather all castes in order to give them the big news."

Pravuil eyed her friends, who simply gestured her that they'd be fine. And so, the biker leader bolted off to the arcade while her friends waved goodbye, all while Proto-Luna smirked rather maliciously.

 _Back with the parents..._

Lynn Sr. followed his wife down a long hallway, with the woman looking quite notably angry. And seeing what happened at the conference room, she had her reasons.

"Great, first we discover Lisa's brain condition is worsening, then it's confirmed Lincoln's pregnant with progenitor Lily, and now we're expected to be held responsible for anything happens during, before, and after the birth!" Rita growled. "It's unbelievable!"

"Um, darling, not to stop you from whining and groaning about it, but where are we going?" Lynn Sr. inquired. "Should we be going back to our station to keep a look on our children, like we've been doing?"

"If we're going to be held responsible for the consequences of Linc's pregnancy, we might as well stop some colateral damage," Rita narrowed her eyes. "It's time we stop watching over them in the distance, and watch them head-on!"

Suddenly, Lynn Sr. got an idea. "Wait, are you saying...?"

Rita opened a door, and the duo went inside to find a giant robot, stationed and offline. Not only that, but it looked like an upgraded version of Lisa's Royal Woodroid 5000.

"We're not using this right away, of course, we'll give it a test run first," Rita sternly remarked, folding her arms. "But it needs to be operational before Lincoln gives birth, otherwise... Bad things will happen."

"Drastic situations require drastic measures," Lynn Sr. sadly sighed. "I really wish it hadn't come to this."

"It's too late to feel bad about that," Rita put a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Right now, we need to focus to prepare for Lincoln's birth. You understand, Lynn?"

Though hesitant for a moment, Lynn Sr. nodded, prompting Rita to smile and add:

"Time to give this baby a test run, then."

 _A little bit later, at Gus Games' and Grub..._

Pravuil-now back to her normal attire-opened the door and looked around until she found the Sister-Lover she was looking for: It was Paige, playing Dance Battle.

" _Alright, Ronnie, you may not have Cindy and Mindy by your side, but you should be able to do this without them,_ " Pravuil though, smiling in relief. " _How hard would it be?_ "

And next thing she knew, Paige threw a glare at her direction, without even stopping her dancing.

" _I should've asked for backup,_ " Pravuil thought. " _I definitely should've asked for backup._ "

Pravuil promptly wobbled her way to Paige-the stress apparently got to her legs as well-and she clumsily clung to the arcade machine, which quickly caught Paige's attention. "H-Hi, S-S-Sister-Lover-"

"Give it to me straight, brat," Paige hissed. "If you have nothing important to tell me-"

"A-Actually, I have to tell you something very important!" Pravuil spoke, while Paige tried her best to ignore her and play her game. "You see, after talking about some new information with High Sister Luna, we discovered that Lincoln... He's pregnant."

Paige promptly slipped, and nearly fell backwards to the ground until Pravuil caught her, though with some obvious difficulty. Then, as the biker girl tried not to drop the Sister-Lover, she felt a chill go up her spine as she noticed Paige was shooting a cold glare at her.

"With Sister Lily!" Pravuil corrected, accidentally dropping the girl. "Apparently, he drank some liquid, and judging by High Sister's Luna's conclusion, that probably had something to do with her, and now Lincoln's pregnant with her!"

Upon hearing that, Paige got up, walked to the arcade game machine, then turned it off. "If what you say is true, then I need to stop right now," she stated as she walked past Pravuil and headed to the entrance. "You should go back and prepare for the march."

Naturally, the Sister of Communication was a bit confused. "March to where?

"To Lincoln's house, of course!" Paige nonchalantly answered as the biker leader ran to her. "I mean, you don't expect me to just sit still and do nothing after learning about such news, right?"

"B-B-But, according to the information I received, he's grown more emotionally sensitive and may suffer a breakdown if he's visited by too many people!" Pravuil desperately added, with Paige just rolling her eyes in annoyance. "I honestly don't think it's such a good idea to go see im right now!"

"Oh please, if you go back to the church, you'll see High Sister Luna has the same idea," the gamer replied. "Now if you excuse me, I got a pregnant boy to meet with."

Pravuil promptly stood at the door. "Listen up, Pravuil, as a Sister-Lover, I'm at a much high rank than you could ever hope to be! And if you don't want to get into trouble, then follow this simple order: Move out of the way!" Paige hissed, stomping the ground.

Pravuil refused to budge.

"Ronnie, get out, of my way."

The Sister of Communication flinched at the use of her real name, confirming Paige was growing fairly angry, and yet, she refused to leave. And fortunately enough, all Paige did was smack her out of the way and leave the building, prompting the girl to follow her and try to convince her that her plan was a bad idea.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"Hmm, I see," Mrs. Johnson folded her arms. "DiMartino, why didn't you tell us anything about this? I would've allowed you to sit this one out!"

DiMartino twiddled her fingers. "I didn't want to risk making you snap at me like you always do when I got excuses."

"I don't do that!" Mrs. Johnson vehemently replied.

Only for Shrinivas to shoot a deadpan look at her. "Yes, you do."

The flustered Johnson flinched. "I-I want a second opinion!"

Suddenly, Rita said, "Yes, you do."


	35. March of the Lincolnists

**So, I noticed that last chapter, I forgot to put the next chapter preview, and I apologize for that, I should've taken a closer look before I posted it.**

 **Also, either nobody noticed or nobody seemed to care that this fic takes place after the whole series. Maybe it was obvious from the start (Some episodes clearly have happened already, like "Hand-Me Downer", so I couldn't make it a prequel, and the only other way to make this work without affecting canon is to make it take place after everything, so...) but still, I'm kinda surprised. Not angry, just surprised.**

 **Anyway, just a couple more chapters, and we can finally move on to another day. And trust me, some interesting stuff is coming up.**

 **And now, to the chapter!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the Royal Woods Defense Forces got a nasty surprise when Rita and and Lynn Sr. revealed that Lincoln was pregnant with Proto Lily! After revealing the Loud Slayers, their only hope of turning the tables to their side, Mrs. DiMartino, Mrs. Shrinivas, and Mrs. Johnson are tasked with getting their fuel!**

 **Meanwhile, on the Lincolnists' side, the biker trio provide the news that Lincoln was suffering a condition, which Proto-Luna revealed to be his pregnancy. And after gathering the other castes, and telling her fellow Lincolnist Paige about it, the Lincolnists promptly begin their march towards the Loud house!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: The Lincolnists' Implacable March! Let's Test the Royal Woods Guardian!**

* * *

 _Royal Woods Defense Forces, Training Room..._

DiMartino, Shrinivas, and Johnson entered the training room, basically a white room large enough to hold a fight between two giant creatures, and took a quick look around to make sure nothing was malfunctioning.

Once they had verified the training room would work correctly, they promptly put their exosuits on:

Mrs. Johnson's exosuit was red with white highlights, a pointy helmet, and a "J" written on her chest. The back of her helmet allowed her to let her untied hair to go down. Funnily enough, it almost reached her waist.

Mrs. Shrinivas' exosuit was much simpler in design, simply being blue with some light blue highlights, a circular helmet, and the letter "S" on her chest.

Finally, Mrs. DiMartino's exosuit was somewhere in the middle. It was black with red highlights, a pointy helmet like Mrs. Johnson's, and a belt that held at least two gun-like weapons. However, they were a tad too mechanical and advanced to be considered pistols or anything.

"Alright, we're ready for the training," Mrs. Johnson stated, before waving and shouting at the rectangular window. "Samantha, send us the Loudroids whenever you're ready!"

However, the person shown on the other side of the window, this being Maggie's mother, didn't respond. Instead, she continued to walk back and forth, her arms folded behind her back, as she thought about something with a look of horror and worry. And naturally, this had something to do with Maggie.

" _It's already been a couple of days, and I still have no idea how I'm supposed to get Magdalene out of the original reality!_ " she thought, scratching her chin. " _I-I mean, I could always ask the education trio to go look for her, but if DiMartino finds out what happened between Maggie and her daughter, she's gonna bring her back, but in pieces! Also, probably dead._ "

"Hey, Sammy!" Mrs. DiMartino yelled, catching the woman's attention. "We don't have all day, so could you summon the robots already?!"

Not wanting to anger the brunette any further, Maggie's mother promptly answered, "G-Got it."

The woman pushed a button, and parts of the ground opened up to allow the Loudroids themselves to come out. Basically, these were robot versions of the Loud sisters, from the oldest to the youngest. Yes, even Lily.

"I still don't understand why the Loudroids are based on the neo sisters rather than the progenitors," Mrs. DiMartino remarked, putting her hands on her hips. "I know getting information about them is next to impossible, but still, why focus on the neo set instead?"

"Because the Loud sisters are very unpredictable," Mrs. Shrinivas answered, putting a hand on DiMartino's shoulder. "It wouldn't hurt to train just in case a situation arrived where we would end up fighting the Louds."

DiMartino rolled her eyes. "If such a situation were to happen, we'd most likely be screwed."

"DiMartino, could you try to be positive for once?" Mrs. Johnson requested.

"Fine, I'm positive we'd be screwed if such a situation happened," Mrs. DiMartino took out her guns and charged them. "Just like how I'm positive I'm going to enjoy turning these robots into hot junk!"

The woman ran off to the robots and started shooting at them while laughing like a maniac. Shrinivas was surprised by the sudden display, while Mrs. Johnson acted exasperated.

"Meh, close enough, I guess," the redhead said before taking out a green energy sword. "Come on, let's try to fight some of the robots before DiMartino shoots them all down."

Shrinivas turned to look at Johnson, and quickly nodded and charged her buster before the duo ran off to fight the training robots, alongside the trigger-happy gunslinger.

 _Meanwhile, at the skies of Royal Woods..._

Carol and Clyde continued to fly for the Loud house, only for them to spot the Lincolnists-of course lead by Prototype Luna-marching through the streets, ignoring or outright breaking through anything that would stop them.

Upon seeing that, the duo flew down and landed in front of the marching religion, who stopped at Proto-Luna's command. However, she didn't say anything, rather, she threw a glare at the duo.

"So, we kinda saw you from the skies," Clyde remarked, folding his arms. "  
If you don't mind us asking, where are you going, and why?"

Proto-Luna snapped her fingers, and Paige promptly went to her side, who looked familiar to Clyde. "Hey, you look-"

"Silence, ignorant heathen!" Paige spat, shutting up the boy. "We are the loyal followers of the lord and savior, Lincoln. We were notified that he's pregnant, which can only mean that it's time we go meet him ourselves!"

Suddenly, all the Lincolnists formed an "L" symbol with their hands and shouted, "All hail the lord and savior Lincoln!"

"Yeah, let's assume I actually understood half of that," Clyde raised an eyebrow, and took out his phone. "I'm also curious about Lincoln being pregnant and everything, but that doesn't mean you have to march to his house like some sort of army! How about we just give him a phone call and-"

"So, to summarize," Proto-Luna interrupted, causing Clyde to promptly write something down. "You will not allow us to go any further?"

"Most definitely not!" Carol spat just as Clyde finished and sent his message. "He's most likely confused and scared thanks to this development, and we won't allow you to further terrify him!"

A silence between the army and the duo followed, with Clyde glancing between the two sides as he waited for somebody to make a move. And then, Proto-Luna stated:

"Lincolnists, show these heathens the power of our faith!"

The girls and boys of Lincolnism raised their arms and ran off to attack the pair, who promptly got ready to fight back. At least Carol did, since Clyde wasn't that much of a fighter. So Carol basically fought on her own against the several dozen lincolnist children while Proto-Luna flew to the sky and watched in the distance, and Paige just stood behind.

And believe it or not, despite having those oh so broken portal powers, the fight quickly went to the lincolnists' side. Apparently, having the ability to teleport your punches and kicks anywhere you wanted, didn't change the fact that Carol was fighting against dozen of hundreds of enemies. So of course, the duo were outnumbered rather quickly.

However, just as the girl with the panda hat, Margo, and Claire-the owner of the dog that turned Luna into a buttkisser-leaped and got ready to slash and trash the pair, Tabby, Polly, and Ronnie came out of nowhere and kicked them hard enough to send them crashing onto some fellow lincolnists. And once the trio landed on the ground, Ronnie threw a wink at Clyde's direction.

"Ronnie! You're here!" he exclaimed in joy and relief. "You don't know how happy I am to see you again!"

"Yeah, we ran here as soon as I got your message," Ronnie answered with a chuckle. "I didn't knew you could speak phonese, but then again, with your crush on Lori, I should've seen it coming."

Just as Carol shot a look at Clyde, though, the lincolnists stopped and just... Stared at Ronnie. Some in awe, some in disbelief, and even some in disgust. But the most notable reaction was from Paige, who took a step forward and glared at the Hispanic tomboy.

"You..."

Ronnie, of course, was confused. "Um, do I know you?"

"No, but I certainly know you," Paige reached for her back, "And I'm definitely not letting you get in my way!"

Paige took out a small bunny plush toy, kinda like Bun-Bun, and before anybody could question it, she pushed it's nose. Without warning, the little plush toy turned into a large mecha, with the cockpit acting as the torso. Paige promptly got on the "torsopit" and literally bitch slapped Ronnie off into the distance.

"Ronnie!" Polly Pain exclaimed as Paige leaped after the tomboy.

However, the quartet was quickly surrounded by the remaining lincolnists, who certainly didn't seem like they were going to let them go easily. And as the fight raged on, and Proto-Luna watched from the distance, Ronnie crash-landed on some field, with Paige landing in front of her afterwards.

"Dude, what the heck was that for?!" Ronnie snapped as she got up, with some difficulty. "I literally just arrived, and you attack me, even though I've never met you in my life!"

"That, was for failing to fulfill your purpose as a lover of the lord and savior," Paige sternly stated. "And everything else that's coming to you."

Paige cracked her knuckles, which her mecha imitated afterwards.

"That, is for some sweet catharsis on my part!"

 _Back at the training room..._

Mrs. Johnson, Shrinivas, and DiMartino flew all around the room as the Loudroids did the same, shooting attacks at the trio as they either swung a sword like Mrs. Johnson, or shot blasts like Shrinivas and DiMartino, several bullets in DiMartino's case. They were all also flying, with the robots using rocket boots, while the teacher trio used jetpacks.

First, DiMartino got close to the twin robots and tricked them into shooting each other, before aiming her guns at their heads and shooting, sending them plummeting to the ground. Then, when the Lucy robot tried to sneak up on her, she aimed her gun to her back and shot her straight in the face, before going after her.

Mrs. Johnson, meanwhile, swung her sword at the robots based on Leni, Lynn, and Lori, with the Loribot showing a bit more resistance before eventually being slashed to bits. With that done, she promptly threw her sword like a boomerang at the Lisa robot, decapitating her in the process.

And Mrs. Shrinivas? She simply shot several buster shots at the robots until she managed to land hits, which pierced the robots' skins like they were nothing.

Soon enough, the robots basically blew up into pieces, signaling the end of the training. Or at least, it was the end for the robots, anyway.

"Alright, that's some training done," Mrs. Johnson turned off her sword and reunited with Shrinivas. "Good work out there, Mrs. S."

Shrinivas forced a nervous smile. "Please, Johnson, you know I prefer it when my students call me that."

"Too easy."

Shrinivas and Johnson turned around and saw DiMartino looking at the remains of the robots, which were starting to reform into it's humanoid form, though they couldn't tell if she was angry or disappointed. However, her tone definitely sounded at the very least angered:

"Much too easy. By the time we get to fight the Louds, if that ever happens, it's quite likely that they'll be much more vicious. More savage. More willing to pull anything they can in order to win the battle. Fighting these droids in their current difficulties no longer matters! We need to increase the difficulty!"

Without warning, DiMartino stepped on a droid piece, then crushed it under her foot, prompting Johnson and Shrinivas to go after her. However, once Johnson turned her around, DiMartino had a look that made her look like she was confused as to what she just did.

"DiMartino, what the heck was that all about?!" Johnson snapped at the woman. "You know making these robots is incredibly expensive! Even if they eventually reform themselves, you can't just break them like they were nothing!"

"I... I know..." DiMartino grabbed her head. "I'm, I'm sorry, I just... Felt so much rage surging through my body, almost as if... I just, wanted to vent on something. I couldn't help but... Snap for a moment."

"She probably snapped because of the Giggles deal," Mrs. Shrinivas remarked as she walked forward and gently brushed the Hispanic woman's hair. "We went to see her gravestone earlier today, I wouldn't be surprised if she was still having trouble processing it."

"Hmm, I see," Mrs. Johnson folded her arms. "DiMartino, why didn't you tell us anything about this? I would've allowed you to sit this one out!"

DiMartino twiddled her fingers. "I didn't want to risk making you snap at me like you always do when I tell you my excuses."

"I don't do that!" Mrs. Johnson vehemently replied.

Only for Shrinivas to shoot a deadpan look at her. "Yes, you do."

The flustered Johnson flinched. "I-I want a second opinion!"

Suddenly, Rita said, "Yes, you do."

The teacher trio turned around, and saw Rita and Lynn Sr. walking towards them. Notably, DiMartino's shy, nervous attitude was instantly switched for a furious one upon seeing the Loud matriarch.

"Your second opinion is rejected!" the Hispanic woman snapped, folding her arms. "Anybody else care to replace her opinion?"

"Yes, she does," Lynn Sr. blurted, pointing at Johnson. "No offense, Agnes, but you do have a bad habit of snapping when you're given excuses, whether they're justified or not."

Mrs. DiMartino sighed in relief, while Mrs. Johnson hung her head and growled in defeat. "Excuse us, Mrs. Loud, but what are you and your husband doing here?" Mrs. Shrinivas inquired. "We were just about to see if we could continue our training."

"And I feel really sorry for interrupting you, but we also need to put something through training," Rita answered, before clasping her hands. "More specifically, we gotta put the Royal Woodroid Mark I through a test run!"

"You mean the giant robot based on your daughter's design?" Mrs. Johnson asked in confusion.

"Very much, and we're gonna need a lot of space to make it work," Lynn Sr. added. "So, we're sorry to interrupt you, but could you lend us the training room for a moment, so we can test it out?"

The teacher trio exchanged look, and Johnson and Shrinivas nodded in agreement, while DiMartino just looked away. The three teachers promptly left, though DiMartino took the time to shoot a glare at the parents' direction, which briefly caught Rita's attention, but didn't really bother her that much.

Once they were gone, Rita cracked her knuckles and said:

"Time to give the RWMkI a test ride!"

 _Meanwhile, back with Ronnie Anne and Paige..._

The Hispanic tomboy was sent flying through a tree-slashing it in half-before crash landing on the dirt, with Paige slowly approaching the girl on her mecha suit.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" Paige asked with a hint of anger in her tone. "Guess what, Ronnie, this is the same sort of pain Lincoln went through when you left him behind!"

"Dude, what are you talking about?" Ronnie asked as she slowly got back up. "Whatever I did that upset you, I'm pretty sure it's not something that needs you to beat me up with your... Robot-thing!"

Upon hearing the tomboy's confused statement, Paige chuckled for a moment, before laughing out loud and placing a hand on her forehead.

"You don't remember! You honestly don't remember!" the gamer girl shouted in disbelief. "The memories! The emotional turmoil! The broken heart! It's all just blank to you, isn't it?!"

Ronnie put her hands in her pockets. "Dude, you can say whatever you want, but unless you put it into context, all I'll ever see come out of your mouth is pure nonsense."

"Ohoho! Nice to see you still got that spunky attitude Lincoln likes so much," Paige narrowed her eyes and made her mecha sit down. "Fair enough, if I'm going to beat you up for personal reasons, I might as well explain those reasons, right?"

Ronnie rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised it didn't take you longer to figure that out."

Paige, though greatly offended at the remark, took a deep breath and promptly explained:

"In the laws of Lincolnism, there are several type of Sisters, but one of the most important is Sister-Lover. Basically, these are Lincolnists who have the duty to provide the lord and savior, Lincoln, with the loving emotions his sisters can't provide. I'm currently the Sister-Lover, serving as your replacement."

Paige looked at the ground and somberly added, "Just like how you replaced Cristina."

Ronnie raised an eyebrow. "I don't remember ever becoming part of this Lincolnism schtik you're talking about, but the Cristina girl sounds familiar. Is that the redhead that never says anything?"

"...Yes, that's her. She was the Sister-Lover until she suddenly went missing one day, and you promptly replaced her."

Suddenly, Paige's mecha stood up and grabbed Ronnie with one of it's arms tightly enough so she couldn't escape so easily.

"And then, you had the audacity to move out of Royal Woods, only to return sometime later!" the gamer snapped as she moved Ronnie so she could look at her face-to-face. "After you had given the lord and savior how much emotional trauma! You left, then came back, and never even tried to fix your mistakes!"

"Wait, is this all because I didn't try to get closer to Lincoln?!" Ronnie thought, seemingly pissing off Paige even further. "Because for your information, I've been trying to fix that for a while now!"

"Who cares what's your relationship with Lincoln now?! Who cares what you mean to him now!?" Paige snapped, shedding tears. "It doesn't change the fact I was left in charge of dealing with the mess you and Cristina left behind! The mess you two created, because you never even thought about his feelings!"

Then, Paige threw Ronnie straight at a tree, and cracked her knuckles once more.

"And I'm going to make sure you wish you had disappeared, just as Cristina did before you!"

"Paige, stop."

The mecha rider girl stopped, then turned around to see Proto-Luna, hovering in the sky and watching with judging eyes.

"H-High Sister Luna!" Paige exclaimed as she and her mecha made an "L" symbol with their arms.

"Is that prototype Rock-O over there?" Ronnie asked as she got up.

"Hey! Try to be more respectful towards-"

"No, let her call me that," Proto-Luna stated. "Considering her caste, her treating me with respect would be a much bigger insult than if she just insulted me in general. Anyhow, the opposition to the march to the lord's house has been defeated. I need you to regroup with the rest of the lincolnists to go to the lord's house."

Paige nodded and got ready to leap back to the city, only to be stopped by Proto-Luna, who teleported in front of her and shot a glare.

"Without, the mecha suit."

The gamer girl frowned, but nonetheless turned her mecha back into the bunny plush toy, before clinging to Proto-Luna's leg as she flew back to the city. With that done, Ronnie suddenly realized something and, due to injuries she sustained, power walked back to the street, thinking:

" _I have to go see how the others are doing!_ "

 _Back at the defense forces..._

Maggie's mother, Samantha, was taking a sip of her coffee as she sat and decided to relax a little. She had a bit of time before she had to work on another station, so she might as well use it to calm down during this... Fairly stressful day.

"Yo, Sammy."

The purple-haired woman flinched and turned around to see the teacher trio, now wearing their normal clothes again, who sat down next to her.

"G-Girls, what are you still doing here?!" Samantha asked in shock. "You barely spent 5 minutes in the training room, and you usually stay there for at least a half hour!"

"We were going to stay there a little longer, but we had to go to let somebody else use it," Mrs. Johnson bluntly explained, rolling her eyes.

Samantha promptly got an idea. "...The Louds, right?"

"Yes! The Louds, Sammy!" DiMartino snapped, lifting her arms in the air. "Right after I had an angry episode, they popped out of nowhere, and asked us to leave so they could give a test run to the Royal Woodroid Mark I!"

"Calm down, darling, at least they didn't force us out of the room," Mrs. Shrinivas put a hand on DiMartino's shoulder. "And besides, you quite clearly showed some discontent with the robots, so why keep doing something you don't like?"

DiMartino blushed and twiddled her fingers. "We could've upped the difficulty a little bit, we didn't have to leave it there."

And as the pair continued to talk, Samantha asked Mrs. Johnson, "Anger episode?"

"She snapped at the robots after bottling up her emotions concerning her daughter's death," the redhead sighed. "At least, I assume that's why it happened."

"Makes sense," Samantha somberly replied, looking at the ground. "S-So, w-would you-"

"Samantha, I know what you want to try and say, but I advise you against it," Mrs. Johnson stated, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder. "DiMartino's in a very... Delicate, emotional state right now. Specially when it concerns Giggles. If you tell her who killed her now, we'll be lucky if she doesn't trash the whole place in an hour."

Samantha frowned harder, clearly in discomfort. "But, she's gonna find out eventually, won't she? What do I gain from keeping the truth hidden?"

"You gain a much smaller probability of meeting your daughter as a pile of meat and bones," Johnson bluntly answered, no doubt sending a chill up Samantha's spine. "DiMartino's a nice girl, if a little childish, but as a mother, she's going to make sure Giggles' killer pays for what she did. And she won't stop until she's either dead, or close to dead."

"I... I understand..."

Then, realizing something, Samantha leaned closer to Johnson's ear and whispered, "How did you find out Maggie was the one who killed Giggles?"

And with a sheepish smile, Johnson answered, "You just confirmed it to me. Besides, I kinda summoned Vine herself to give me an answer-"

"You did what?!" Samantha yelled at the top of her lungs.

This no doubt caught Shrinivas and DiMartino's attention, though they luckily went back to their own stuff when Johnson gestured them to do so.

"You know how dangerous it is to try summoning any of the progenitors!" Samantha whispered to Johnson, who just rolled her eyes. "Did you make sure you did nothing wrong?!"

"Of course I did, everybody knows all the extra details about the summoning of any progenitor is a trap," Johnson whispered back. "The only thing you have to do is write the circle, say the summoning chant, and boom, summoning done."

Samantha promptly calmed down... And added, "Can you tell DiMartino I'm sorry? Don't give her a reason, just... Just tell her that."

Johnson soon obliged. "Hey, DiMartino, Samantha says she's sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Sammy, it's not your fault the Louds snatched the training room away from us," DiMartino replied, only to promptly yell, "It's their fault for thinking they can just do that all because they have a big family! News flash, Louds, you're not the only ones with families in this organization!"

And as DiMartino's rant went on, Samantha just continued to sulk, with Johnson trying at least a little bit to comfort her.

 _Back with Ronnie Anne..._

The freckled tomboy managed to return to the streets where the march were, only to see they were already halfway there on the horizon, with Carol, Clyde, Tabby, and Polly Pain laying on the ground, bruised and beaten.

"Oh my goodness, guys!" Ronnie shouted, only to promptly collapse next to Carol. "A-Are you okay?"

"Are you?" Carol asked in return, before healing Ronnie with her healing powers. "I mean, you just came back from fighting a mecha suit!"

"Well, I am feeling better now, thanks to you," Ronnie got up and dusted herself. "B-But what about you four? You faced off against several dozen crazy girls!"

"And the occassional guy!" Clyde muttered from the ground.

"Well, as you can see, we were quickly outnumbered and overrun," Tabby said as she got up, and promptly tried to help Polly get on her feet as well.

"We managed to get a couple hits in, but they still got through us," Polly added.

Carol got up, stretched a bit, then used her healing powers on Clyde, Polly, and Tabby. While the girls were feeling fine, though, Carol needed to use her powers on Clyde a second time to fully get him in the same condition.

"And now, the Lincolnists are marching to Linc's house unimpeded," and in that moment, Carol got an idea. "Polly, Tabby, can you go to a safe place from here?"

"Yeah, Mrs. Johnson's house is close nearby," Tabby answered, earning a look from Polly. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I can only take up to two people with my teleportation technique," Carol turned to look at the dark-skinned geek and the pony tailed tomboy. "And I need to take Clyde and Ronnie to the Loud house."

"What?!" the duo exclaimed in unison. "Why us?!"

"Clyde, you're Lincoln's best friend, and Ronnie Anne, you probably want to help Lincoln as much as Clyde wants to as well," Carol explained. "And besides, I'm way too tired to be abusing this technique right now, so I can only use it two more times before I collapse, got it?"

Ronnie and Clyde nodded, followed by Polly and Tabby doing the same. And with that done, Tabby and Polly walked their way to Mrs. Johnson's house, while Clyde and Ronnie grabbed Carol's hand, and the teenager teleported the trio out of the place.

 _Meanwhile, back at the Loud house..._

Lincoln clutched his stomach as he tried to process the information that was just revealed to him: He was pregnant. With Proto-Lily, of all people! At least he was taking it much well than his other present sisters, who seemed to be genuinely worried and scared about the revelation, and the biker trio, who had just arrived and informed everybody about the incoming lincolnists.

Except Lisa, who just went back to work on her underground laboratory. After all, she had a giant robot to work on.

"Okay, so, you're pregnant. That means you're a guy, who's pregnant," Luna remarked as she walked back and forth. "And as if that wasn't enough, there's apparently an entire religion of people who worship you marching to our house. I know it seems like a pretty outlandish thing, but-"

Suddenly, Carol appeared out of nowhere, and dropped Ronnie and Clyde on the ground, then grabbed the twins and Lucy as she hastily said:

"No time to explain, will tell you later, good luck with the march."

Carol promptly teleported out of the place, and just as Linc and his sisters pondered what the heck just happened, Ronnie and Clyde got up and dusted themselves, with Clyde explaining thus:

"Sorry for coming in here out of nowhere, Carol and I were going to come check up on you after Bobby told us you were pregnant, but we found a march of girls that were heading to your house!"

And Ronnie added:

"We tried to stop them along with Polly and Tabby, but they outnumbered us! Polly and Tabby are on their way to Tabby's house, but the march is still going and-"

"Yeah, Mindy, Cindy, and Pravuil already told us that stuff," Lincoln replied, before turning to the biker girls. "They arrived here a little while ago and explained the situation to us."

"Hi," Ronnie greeted to Pravuil, who responded, "Yo."

Suddenly, everybody heard people knock the door a couple times, probably meaning the march had already reached them. So of course, they tried to deal with this by not answering the door, only to hear the knocking a little while later, this time sounding far more aggressive.

"G-Go away!" Luan shouted. "There's nobody here!"

"Then why did somebody yell from inside!" Paige questioned from outside, causing Luan to hit her forehead. "Listen, let us in, and let us see Lincoln, and nobody gets hurt!"

However, Ronnie Anne Clyde-I mean, Ronnie Anne and Clyde-stood in front of the door, ready to try and pummel back the marching lincolnists. They were soon joined by Luna and Luan, and finally Lincoln, who clung to Luna's side as he tried to put on a brave demeanor.

"Fine then, if that's how you wanna be!"

Paige kicked the door down immediately, and some of the lincolnists went inside, with Paige shooting a glare at Ronnie before spotting Lincoln nearby.

"Lincoln..."

Soon afterwards, the lincolnists moved forward, with the team getting ready to strike back... Only for them to get on their knees, form an "L" symbol with their hands, and state in unison:

"All hail the lord and savior, Lincoln."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"Great, I just realized we forgot to ask Carol what book were we looking for, and now we're definitely going to regret!" Lola snapped, stomping the ground. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, Lana, believe it or not, I don't think complaining is going to help us reach the book we're looking for," Lana quipped, earning a glare from the diva sister. "Come on, let's explore around this place until we find the book."

"But it'll take us hours to look for it!"

"Less complaining, more exploring!"


	36. Praising the Lord and a Family Tree

**So, you may be wondering why I'm pulling the "update in both Saturday and Sunday" schtick again. Well, truth be told, I'm close to getting three chapters done ahead, and I'm not that comfortable with getting more than two chapters ready. As for why I have that much, well, I got inspired, almost got it finished yesterday, but I decided to put it on hold to finish it this weekend.**

 **Besides, I like to think that, since the story is going to be long, more chapters should come out whenever possible, as long as the chapters are truly ready. Which they were, in this case. Don't worry, we'll be back to a sunday-only update schedule after this, just letting you know about it.**

 **Also, Chains of Reality officially has a TvTropes page now. Yay.**

 **So, without further ado, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the teacher trio-Shrinivas, Johnson, and DiMartino-practiced for a little bit before Rita and Lynn Sr. unceremoniously stole their remaining time on the training room. Samantha, Maggie's mother, tried to tell DiMartino the truth about Giggles' murdered, but she was stopped by suggestion of Johnson.**

 **Meanwhile, Carol and Clyde-soon joined by Ronnie Anne, Polly Pain, and Tabby-tried to stop the imposing march of the lincolnists, but they found themselves vastly outnumbered! With little option left, Carol teleported Ronnie and Clyde to the house and took out the twins and Lucy before the march got there. When the team got ready to strike, however, the lincolnsits knelled down and praised the pregnant boy.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Carol's Secret Uncovered! Shower the lord and savior Lincoln with your Gratitude!**

* * *

 _Carol's House, Living Room..._

Carol, the twins, and Lucy appeared at the living room of the teenager's house, and as soon as she released the Louds, Carol promptly collapsed on the floor before crawling her way to the couch.

"Carol, are you okay?!" Lana exclaimed as she ran off to the teenager.

"I'm fine, Lana, I'm just really tired," Carol answered before tucking herself on the couch. "I just spent a lot of hours training with a pair of people on the afterlife, and I'm absolutely exhausted."

The trio looked at Carol with confusion at the mention of the afterlife.

"No, I'm not dead or something like that, I just teleported to the afterlife."

Lana and Lucy sighed in relief, while Lola narrowed her eyes, feeling suspicious about the remark. Nevertheless, she decided to sit down and watch some tv with Lucy while Lana remained by Carol's side.

"So, Lucy, what do you wanna see?" Lola asked, earning a slap in the face from the blind goth. "On the television!"

"Oh, uh, well, I'm not in the mood for anything dark right now, it may make me remember the Vine fiasco," Lucy winced, partially because of the memories, partially because she realized how stupid this situation actually was. "So, try to put something lighthearted, please."

Lola promptly started surfing the channels, and before long, she put on the "Princess Pony" show. And thought the pageant diva flinched the instant she saw the show, Lucy didn't really react. Probably for a good reason.

"Well, this isn't exactly my cup of tea, if you get what I mean," Lola remarked, putting on a nervous smile as she added, "But, if you feel like this show could cheer you up, I can try survive an episode or two. Oh, by the way, I put on the Princess Pony show."

" _Oh no, my favorite show! If Lola finds out I actually likes this and tattles on me, who knows how much teasing I'm going to get!_ " Lucy thought in sheer horror. " _Quick, act as disgusted as whenever you hear one of Luan's jokes!_ "

Lucy took a deep breath. "Lola, in case you haven't noticed, I can't really see anything due to my blindness. And besides, even if I could see, Princess Pony is really something that only be seen in intense feelings of depression or sadness. Simply put, I need something lighthearted, but not _this_ lighthearted."

Lola turned off the television, then glanced at Lana, who was talking with a grumpy Carol.

"And no matter how well the nightmare goes, or how unlikely it seems to be related to Lola, she always ends up dead one way or another!" Lana told the blonde teenager, seemingly oblivious to how angry Carol was getting. "Sliced in half, burn to death, or even suic-"

"Lana, you're adorable, but for the love of Lincoln, I'm trying to sleep here!" Carol snapped at the girl before hiding under her bed sheets. "And telling me about your nightmares won't help me with that! Can't all this dream mumbo jumbo be left for later?!"

And just as Lana frowned, Lola and Lucy went to her, with the diva quipping, "Huh, that's not something you see everyday: Carol angry at you. What happened between you two?"

"I was telling her about these chronic nightmares I've been having lately, in hopes that she could help me deal with them so I could sleep at night," Lana explained... Then frowned angrily and looked away. "Not that you probably even care. Why are you asking, anyway?"

"Lana, the poor girl, for whatever reason, is clearly exhausted and drained," Lola put her hand on her hip. "I may not like her, but I certainly know how it feels to have your beauty sleep-or sleep in general-be interrupted, so I have to feel sorry for her."

"Well, I wouldn't need to ask her if there was some other way to find out about all the info we wanna know," Lana replied, looking away as she added, "But, as far as I know, the only way we can find out about such stuff is through Carol!"

"Actually, there pretty much is another way to find out about whatever you seek for," Carol blurted, catching the trio's attention as she slightly came out of her bedsheets. "There's a whole library down in my attic-"

"Down your attic?" Lucy repeated in confusion. "Don't you mean up your attic?"

"But of course not!" Carol replied. "Leni told me the place upstairs was called a basement!"

Lola, and surprisingly enough Lana, burst out laughing, while Lucy shook her head in disbelief... And tried to hold her laughter.

"Seriously, Carol?" Lola scoffed in the middle of her laughter. "You're believing something _Leni_ , of all people, told you?"

"W-Well, her word means a lot to me," Carol answered, blushing a little as she said so.

"And we also like her too. I mean, it's Leni, it's kinda hard not to like a kindhearted idiot like her," Lola replied, with her twin and Lucy nodding in agreement, but with slight disapproval at the hidden insult. "But liking her doesn't change the fact that she is... Well, Leni. She's not a genius."

"And judging from how Lisa tends to act like, that's a very good thing," Lucy added.

"Whatever, we're getting sidetracked here!" Lana shouted. She promptly calmed down, then turned to Lana. "Where can we find this library you speak of?"

"Again, it's in the place downstairs that's apparently not called an attic," Carol closed her eyes and hit the hay. "It's at the end of the hallway, and it's unlocked, so if you find it, you shouldn't have any issues getting inside. Now please let me sleep."

Lana nodded, and she gestured her sisters to follow her... Then whistled in order to get Lucy to get the message. Though the goth at least did nod and follow her right away, Lola stood still and looked firmly at the sleeping Carol with a look of disapproval.

"To think, this is supposed to be Lana and I's niece..." the diva thought as Carol started to smile and drool a little, probably from the dream she was having. "Lori, Leni, what the heck have you been up to?"

Lola promptly took a deep breath and followed Lana and Lucy deeper into Carol's house, leaving the sleeping teenager to sleep in peace.

 _Meanwhile, back at the Loud house..._

Lincoln, Clyde, Ronnie, and the rest of Team Lincoln stood in confusion as the lincolnists stood in their current stances-kneeling over, bowing down, and forming an "L" symbol with their hands-before they promptly got up, and waited for... Something.

"So, uh, what now?" Lincoln suddenly asked, taking a step forward. "Is this the part where you attack us or something?"

"My lord, why would we ever want to attack you?" Paige asked, tilting her head in both confusion and worry. "As the most gracious, patient, generous, and specially forgiving, person in all of existence, you deserve nothing but our utmost praise and adoration!"

And as the rest of the lincolnists nodded in agreement, Lincoln leaned closer to Ronnie whispered, "Is anybody else feeling uncomfortable with them brown nosing me?"

Ronnie rolled her eyes. "No joke, Lame-O, everybody is feeling uncomfortable about that."

"And I can't help but feel there's more to it than that," Clyde took a step forward and adjusted his glasses. "I don't want to jump into conclusions, but is there any possibility that you and these lincolnists may have some sort of agenda of your own concerning Lincoln?"

If Paige's furious glare and the lincolnists' ensuing, collective growl was any indication, they were _not_ happy about Clyde's question _at all_. And yet, instead of blowing up and snapping right then and there, Paige managed to calm down fast enough to concentrate her anger into a much calmer, subtle form.

"Of course we have no ill intent towards Lincoln, blackjack," Paige answered as she took steps forward, forcing Clyde, Ronnie, Luan, and Luna, to walk backwards until they hit a wall. "Because unlike a certain group of petty, inconsiderate, ungrateful, _unhelpful, selfish FARQUUADS_!"

Suddenly, Paige changed from angry to happy and hugged the pregnant boy as she praised, "He's the most perfect being in all of existence, worthy of nothing but praise and admiration!"

"The blatant brown nosing still makes me uncomfortable," suddenly, Lincoln realized something. "Although, now that you say that, I may have an idea. You say you don't have any ill will towards me?"

"Of course not!"

"But you do have a problem with everybody else?"

Paige shot another glare at the quartet. "It's only fitting for such filthy, worthless _things_!"

"Luna, Luan, Clyde, Ronnie, I think you should go upstairs until these girls-"

"And some boys!" Silas exclaimed from the back.

Lincoln paused, then resumed. "Okay, go upstairs until all these people decide to leave. I don't want to risk anything happening out of nowhere or for any other reason, like a fight, 'cause that would probably wreck the house. I don't want to even think about mom and dad's reaction if they found out the house was destroyed."

"What about us?" Pravuil asked as the biker trio approached Lincoln.

"You can stay," the guy replied before brushing the leader's hair. "I'm assuming your fellow lincolnists won't hurt you if I don't want them to, and I definitely have no issue with you at all."

The trio's eyes grew wide and diluted. "Sweet Feet..."

"But dude, if a fight _does_ break out, we can take care of ourselves!" Luna replied before transforming into her Dumah form. "I mean, I can do this!"

"I can use the Savinoken!" Luan added before activating the technique.

"I can take care of myself just fine!" Ronnie stated, cracking her knuckles.

"I... Really don't think I'd be able to do much, honestly," Clyde sighed.

"How does that change that fact for one, you're greatly outnumbered regardless of your powers, and two, the house would end up being wrecked regardless of whether you held back or not?" Lincoln pointed out, causing Luan and Luna to turn off their power and go back to base, and Ronnie and Clyde to exchange looks. "Listen, I don't think there's anyway you can stay and not cause these people who claim to worship me to start a fight or a riot or whatever. Please, listen to me, and wait until I tell you to come back down."

"You heard the lord and savior!" Paige stated before pointing at the quartet. "Now do as he says before he-"

Suddenly, Lincoln casually said, "Paige, please shut up."

The girl immediately fell silent, and the quartet exchanged looks before nodding and going upstairs, with Lincoln and the lincolnists watching them as they left. The quartet waved goodbye, and Lincoln returned the wave before the four fully left. And with that done, Lincoln turned back to the lincolnists and said:

"Alright, let's see how this ends up."

 _Meanwhile, back with Lana, Lucy, and Lola..._

The trio finally found the door leading to the basement, and so they opened it and took a peek inside. What they saw was that the library was actually so large, a proper staircase either couldn't be used or wasn't implemented, since instead of a staircase, there was a ladder going all the way down to the floor.

So the three girls of course went down the ladder, and were immediately overwhelmed by how large the library actually was: It wasn't just a couple of bookshelfs, it was several dozen, maybe even hundred, all filled to the brim with books.

"Great, I just realized we forgot to ask Carol what book were we looking for, and now we're definitely going to regret!" Lola snapped, stomping the ground. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, Lana, believe it or not, I don't think complaining is going to help us reach the book we're looking for," Lana quipped, earning a glare from the diva sister. "Come on, let's explore around this place until we find the book."

"But it'll take us hours to look for it!"

"Less complaining, more exploring!"

And so, Lola begrudgingly followed Lana, who went after Lucy, who had wandered off a while ago. And as the trio looked for the book, they took a look around the place: Beyond the bookshelves, there didn't seem to be anything too important or interesting around. In fact, the place was basically barren besides the books, with the horizon expanding in a seemingly infinite manner.

So of course, the only thing left to do was check out the bookshelves themselves. So each girl grabbed a random book and promptly begun reading:

Lola's book was about crystals and minerals, but the girl just flipped page after page in complete, apathetic boredom.

Lana's book was about both animals, and oddly enough, kinetic abilities. For the most part, Lana just skipped the pages until she came across a page for the ability to control earth, or Terrakinesis.

What specially caught her-and to a lesser extent, Lola's-attention was that there was a page that helped the user cover or outright replace limbs with earth or rock issue, should the need arise. So Lana gave the page a quick read, then turned to her arm and channeled her energy...

And before long, some rock-like matter came out of Lana's arm stub, and morphed into a brand new arm for her to use. It also stung quite a lot, and it didn't fall apart back into a stump once Lana realized what she did, but still, the twins were shocked.

"Yup, this definitely should make up for my lost arm!" Lana chirped as she tried to do the stone arm once more, only for it to fall back into a stump even faster than before. "It's gonna take me a while for me to learn how it use this right, though, but it'll definitely be worth it."

This sight caused Lola to close her book, throw it away, and stomp off to elsewhere in a hissy fit.

"Fine, go and act like a spoiled jerk!" Lana shouted with a stern tone. "See if that gets you anywhere!"

And as this happened, Lucy moved her hand through her book to see what the cover of it was. However, once she saw it was "Summoning Rituals: Honest Edition," she immediately threw it away.

"You tricked me once, book," the goth sternly stated, folding her arms. "And I will never let you trick me again."

Back with Lola, the girl continued to run away from her twin and sister, trying to hold back her tears... Until she realized there seemed to be something up on the distance. So she ran even faster, with the object getting closer, prompting her to run faster and faster...

Until she crashed right into it. Perhaps she went a little too fast?

"Ugh, note to self: Make sure to brake before it's too late," she said as she rubbed her head, then looked at the object she ran into.

It was a metallic door connected to a large metal wall, with a couple windows... And that was about it, fairly simple in design. "Huh, why would Carol-"

Suddenly, the door lit up with a pattern that soon formed three circles, each encircling something: One encircled a phone, one encircled a spiral, and one encircled a bell. The one encircling a bell lit up-with a mix of blue and green to match-and automatically opened the door to show a staircase, leading even further down the basement.

" _How freaking big is this basement?_ " Lola pondered as she went inside. " _Ugh, I might as well-_ "

However, once she was inside, Lola immediately felt the atmosphere had completely changed. Yes, the location did still feel as barren as before, but it almost felt like Lola had not just entered another room, but another dimension entirely.

And then, she reached the end of the hallway, which had several doors leading to places, and one shocking thing hanged on the wall...

"I have to show this to Lana!"

 _Back at the Loud house..._

The lincolnists were forming a line towards Lincoln, who sat on the couch with Paige tenderly clinging to his arm. The first gift came from a blonde girl wearing a white sweater, and what a surprise, it was an orange turtleneck sweater.

"I knitted this sweater for you during one of the fashion sessions," the blonde said, twiddling her fingers as she lightly blushed. "I thought you would need something to keep you warm, so I made sure to make it extra comfy."

So Lincoln put it on for a moment, and hummed in delight. "I really like this sweater. Thanks a lot... Uh..."

"You may call me Mabel, my lord," the blonde answered with a little blush.

Up next were the cheerleaders from when Lincoln tried to pass off Lynn's bike as her own, who moved their pom-poms up and down as the shouted in unison:

"Lincoln Loud! He's our man! He always has the greatest plans!"

Lincoln gave the girls a thumbs up."Your routine definitely _cheered_ me up!"

The cheerleaders giggled and threw a wink at Lincoln's direction.

Next were two brunettes, one with fair skin and another with dark skin and darker hair, with the fair-skinned one holding a tray of brownies and cookies. Notably, the fair-skinned one looked incredibly happy and excited, while the darker one was seemingly more calm and stoic.

"We baked you some cookies and brownies!" the cookie girl exclaimed, her pupils sparkling with delight.

"Well, we baked them for everyone, but we might as well give them to you and see if you like them," the brownie girl added, scratching the back of her head.

Lincoln took a bite of each, and moaned in delight. "You did a fantastic job... Um-"

"Candy and Betty!" the cookie girl chirped.

"I'm actually Beverly, but she calls me Betty as a way to shorten it," the brownie girl added.

Lincoln smiled. "Well, you two did a good job!"

Candy hugged Beverly and cheerfully squeed while her friend smiled and rolled her eyes.

And next were the biker trio, who walked up to Lincoln and showed... A bit of both hesitation and fear.

So of course, he put up a reassuring tone as he tilted his head and asked, "Oh, did you guys bring me something too?"

The trio exchanged looks, but remained silent, which quickly got on Paige's nerves. "Your lord and savior demands to know if you brought him gifts or not! Either show him your gifts or-"

Lincoln wordlessly threw a look at Paige, grabbed her face with his hand, then pushed her off the couch before he turned back to the trio, and smiled as he waited for their answer.

"We... Didn't really manage to get you anything, Sweet Feet," Pravuil revealed while Cindy and Mindy looked at the ground in shame. "We were so caught up with getting here to send you a warning, we forgot to bring anything just in case we-"

Suddenly, Claire, Margo, and the girl with the panda hat came out of nowhere and grabbed them.

"Your excuses won't save you from punishment!" Margo hissed before turning to the white-haired boy. "What do we do with them, lord Lincoln?"

Lincoln frowned. "Leave them alone."

The girls exchanged looks in confusion, and Paige promptly got back up and spoke to Lincoln:

"B-But, darling, these three clearly knew we were coming-"

"And all of this offering and gift stuff happened without warning," Lincoln retorted before throwing a glare at Paige. "And last time I checked, _you_ have done nothing to get on my good side, while these three at least offered to help me and have helped me before."

"B-But-" Paige started to grow angry, only to quickly calm down. "Lincoln, the reason we're showing you our gifts is to show how much we love and adore you. Because these three have brought you nothing, they're showing incompetence in expressing the explicit adoration they-"

"Are you deaf, stupid, or both?!" Lincoln growled, started to grow angrier. "I just said this whole gift thing happened out of nowhere! Even if they did manage to see this coming, they had to come here to give me and my sisters a warning that you were even coming! Are you seriously going to tell me they could've gotten me gifts and yet managed to get here to deliver the warning before you all arrived?!"

"Lincoln, be rational and-"

Suddenly, the while part of Lincoln's eyes turned orange and begun glowing as his voice gained a second voice underneath, which sounded much younger, as he directed his anger at the lincolnists.

"I am your god! And if you demand people to listen to me, then you too will do as I say, no ifs or buts! And I say you leave, _them, ALONE_!"

The "ALONE!" part was shouted so loudly, the entire place shook as Lincoln let out a shockwave that went all the way through the upper part of the house, though miraculously enough, nothing wound up destroyed. However, the quartet-alongside Lily, who was being held by Luna-upstairs did manage to feel the vibration and the shaking.

"What's going on?!" Clyde asked as he clung to Ronnie for safety, only for the vibrations to suddenly stop. "What was that all about?!"

"Do you think Lame-O did that?" Ronnie inquired. "The whole "do something so hard the whole house shakes" thing?"

"If that's the case, then I always had a feeling he'd be strong," Luna folded her arms and looked at the ground. "But now, whoa, what the hell."

This earned her a slap in the face from Luan. "Luna, don't say swear words in front of kids like Clyde and Ronnie!"

"There's no issue with me, actually," Clyde replied. "My parents already taught me not to copy people who swear like sailors."

"There's no problem with me either," Ronnie added. "Mom and Bobby's seemingly endless jobs cause them to swear so often, I kinda grew numb to swearing after a while."

Luan frowned. "That's not really reassuring, and besides, that still leaves Lily!"

"Aw, come on dude, there's no way Lily had an idea of what I was saying," Luna answered, before rubbing her baby sister's forehead. "And even if she did, she won't end up doing the same thing, right Lily?"

The baby blew a raspberry right at the musician's face.

"I think you should watch out what you say from now on, just to be sure," Luan remarked, with Clyde and Ronnie nodding in agreement.

And back downstairs, the lincolnists stood and shivered in sheer shock and horror-and some in awe-as Lincoln promptly returned back to normal and looked around. He seemed genuinely confused as to what they were scared about, but at least it did convince panda girl, Claire, and Margo to let the biker trio go back to the mob.

"Alright, so, I'm pretty sure I just made it clear I don't have a problem with these three," Lincoln said as he sat back on the couch. "So, please, don't just harass them while I'm here, alright?"

"O-O-Of course, my lord, we'll do as you say right away!" Paige answered, clearly sweating bullets as she turned to the lincolnists and yelled, "E-Everybody, get back to your positions! N-Nothing happened here!"

The lincolnists obliged, still scared as ever, and as their offerings continued, Lincoln couldn't help but wonder just what the heck was up with them.

" _Why are they scared? Was it something I did?_ "

 _Back with the younger trio..._

Lola dragged Lucy and Lana to the metal wall, with the door leading to the shocking thing at the end of the hallway still open.

"Alright, Lucy, while Lana and I go downstairs to show her what I saw, I want you to stay here and watch just in Carol comes here," Lola explained. "Do you understand?"

"Sure, leave the blind, frail goth to guard the entrance," Lucy remarked with a hint of sarcasm. "There's no way that can go wrong."

"Listen, I know this isn't the best plan we got, but anybody who could act as a better guard are either living with Lori and Leni, or stuck back at the house with those cultists Carol mentioned," Lola replied, putting her hand on her hip. "And I can't put Lana here instead because I have to show her what I saw, and I can't stay here 'cause I'm not that much more durable than you."

The goth sighed and turned around. "Fine, but don't blame me if she gets past me."

"We won't, don't worry," Lola turned to her twin. "As for you, Lana, I would like you to try and prepare yourself for the revelation, 'cause I'm not going to lie, this is going to be shocking, and I don't want you to collapse or something."

"First of all, don't talk to me like you're the older twin; I'm the one who's older!" Lana growled.

Lola rolled her eyes. "By five minutes."

"My point still stands," Lana put her hand on her hip. "And second of all, we've already faced our counterparts in some superpowered fashion, learned how to fly and shoot energy blasts, got out arms ripped off by some rip-offs of those girls, and watched the whole deal with Lucy sealing her counterpart. After all of that, I can be rest assured-"

 _One gilligan cut later..._

"This is so much worse than the way you implied it!"

Lana and Lola stood at the end of the hallway, where Lana watched in horror at the thing hung there: A family tree of the Loud house. However, besides the Loud children and the parents, there were also some... Odd pairings, most which were a sister paired up with Lincoln.

And Carol was right beneath Lori and Leni, with a shadowy figure beneath Lincoln and Lori. Not that Lana paid any attention to the shadowy figure.

"So much for being confident it wouldn't be so bad," Lola scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"How was I supposed to know you were talking about a family tree!" Lana shivered as she scanned the tree. "And one that implies such ridiculous things at that?! I mean, us being paired with Lincoln is horrifying enough, but Carol being Lori and Leni's daughter?! That's just ridiculous!"

" _And even worse, it's true, somehow,_ " Lola somberly thought. "Look, Lana-"

"Ugh, well, I left the door open again, might as well check if I missed something."

The duo turned back and saw Carol, seemingly half-asleep and covered with her bedsheet, walking towards them. And just as she got closer to the family tree, Lana took a step forward and stopped her on her tracks.

"Carol... Please... Tell me that's not true," Lana whimpered as the dizzy teenager looked at her with... Confusion. "Please tell me you're not Lori and Leni's daughter!"

Lola glanced between Carol and Lana, hoping that things couldn't get any worse for everybody. However, Carol immediately ignored Lana once she noticed the family tree.

"Oh look, I forgot to hid the evidence," she dizzily remarked as she wobbled to the tree. "Well, I might as well cover it up before those three troublemakers, specially Lana, find out too much information."

Once she reached the tree, she took off her picture from it, then walked back to the staircase, only to nearly crash with Lana. She managed to stop, though, and after deadpanly looking at the plumber's horrified expression, she crouched down and whispered:

"Shush, don't tell Lana, okay? I really don't think she'd understand... Actually, I don't think anybody would understand."

Carol promptly walked back upstairs, while Lola watched her leave, and Lana stood. Lucy? She tried to run to her siblings, but slipped and crashed down the stairs 'till she hit the floor face-first.

"Sorry, I tried to stop her, I even used my body as a barricade, but it didn't work!" the goth stated as she got up and dusted herself. "It apparently had something to do with the fact she's twice my height, if not taller."

"It's okay, Lucy, Carol was apparently sleepwalking, so she didn't see who we were," Lola replied, putting a hand on her goth sister. "At the very least, we can get out of here without being found out."

Lola turned around. "Come on, La-"

But Lola just heard whimpering as she saw Lana standing in front of the Loud family tree on the wall. However, she was shivering and standing completely still, almost as if she's been paralyzed.

"Lana?"

Lola turned her sister around, and she was crying and sobbing as she uttered repeatedly, with a horrified tone:

"I don't get it... I don't get it..."

"Looks like whatever truth that's been revealed to her has shattered her," Lucy remarked as she walked to Lola. "That's what I hear anyway. What could she have discovered that brought her to such a funk?"

"We found out that Carol is actually Lori and Leni's daughter," Lola answered as she grabbed Lana's hand, and moved a bit, with the plumber mindlessly following along. "Well, more acurately, she found out. I found out as early as the vacation on the beach-"

"Say no more, you've told me enough," Lucy replied. "Let's leave the billion questions popping in our heads for later, and focus on going home for now."

Lola nodded, and she grabbed Lucy's hand and the duo left the basement, all while they tried their hardest to ignore Lana's chanting.

 _And finally, back at the loud house..._

Lincoln, alongside Luna, Luan, Lily, Clyde, and Ronnie, stood at the frontyard, with all the lincolnists-minus Proto-Luna for some reason-looking at Lincoln and sporting cheerful smile, specially Paige.

"Well, I think we've bothered you long enough, we're gonna go back to the church," Paige said, clasping her hands. "I hope our praise and gifts pleased you, my lord, and that you can forgive the little... Problem three of us caused."

Then she turned to the biker trio and spat, "Apologize, you trio of troublemakers!"

"No, It's okay, I should've controlled myself when I scolded you," Lincoln replied, before adding in a serious tone. "However, I don't want you to beat them up or torture them or anything when you get back. Instead, you'll go to whatever leader you have, you'll tell them how YOU tried to attack because of an impropmtu gift session, and that you'll promise to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Paige took a step back, but she quickly regained her composure. "W-Well-"

"And I don't want you to use a loophole in order to make them look bad or something!" Lincoln added, putting his hands on his hips. "You'll tell them the truth, and nothing but the truth!"

"Ohoho, Lame-O's showing you who has the pants in the relationship!" Ronnie laughed at Paige's surprise.

"Both literally and figuratively!" Clyde added with a chuckle.

Paige took a pair of steps back as Lincoln waited for her answer, and she turned to the biker trio to see them giggling as well.

"The mothers' words are divine, but the father's word is absolute," Cindy and Mindy remarked, folding their arms with a smug smirk.

"You can't just disobey Sweet Feet and expect to get away with it, you have to do as he says," Pravuil added, smirking with delight. "Specially if High Sister Luna finds out you disobeyed him."

Paige immediately took a deep breath and calmed down.

"Understood, my lord, your words shall be followed," Paige stated. "Everybody, let's go back to the church."

And so, the lincolnists went walking back to the church, with the biker trio giving Lincoln a wink before they joined their fellows. And as everybody watched lincolnists left, Lincoln looked at his stomach and clutched it with worry, which immediately caught Clyde's attention.

"Is something wrong, Lincoln?" he asked with worry as the rest looked at the boy. "They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

"If they did, then just let us know and we'll deal with them ourselves!" Ronnie added, cracking her knuckles as Luna, Luan, and even Lily nodded.

"No, they didn't do anything," Lincoln said, only to suddenly remember his intense shouting moments earlier. "In fact, I'm more worried for what I did."

Clyde raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, while the lincolnists were showering me with affection and stuff like that, the biker trio who helped with our investigation, and I grew so angry, I got off my couch and yelled at them," the boy looked at the ground and took a deep breath. "But I didn't just yell at them, I yelled so hard, I caused the whole house to shake!"

"So you really were the one behind the intense shaking," Luna remarked, realizing what this probably meant.

"And you think Proto-Lily is the cause of that?" Luan guessed.

Lincoln took a step back. "H-How did you-"

"You're clutching your stomach, Lame-O, which has a supernatural baby inside. And besides, last time I checked, you didn't have the ability to yell hard enough to shake an entire building," Ronnie answered, before whispering to Luan. "He didn't have the ability to do that, right?"

Luan shook her head with an "really?" look.

"E-Even so... I have no idea if I can control that kind of power," Lincoln clutched his stomach harder. "I mean, we're lucky I just shook the whole house instead of outright, blowing it up or something. And that happened just 'cause I got upset!"

Clyde and Ronnie, as well as the sisters, frowned in sympathy as Lincoln added a disturbing question:

"What will happen if I get angry, or worse, furious?"

And the sheer thought of such a thing happening sent a shiver up the rest's spine. One so big and so cold, their skin turned blue and they practically started sweating bullets, even Ronnie Anne!

"N-N-N-Not that I'll let that happen, of course!" Lincoln quickly added, trying to calm down his companions. "I-I'll watch out and make sure I don't get too overly emotional again! Although, I will need you guys to cooperate in order to do that."

Everybody calmed down, and Luna, Luan, and Lily looked at Lincoln with worry.

"I mean, even if I manage to control myself, there's still the chance you guys will make me burst with anger or sadness with your teasing and... Well, you need to help me stay calm too," the boy added, looking at the ground. "So, I don't know if I'm asking much, but-"

"Say no more, Love, we get what you're trying to say," Luna walked to her brother, crouched down and put a hand on his shoulder. "And you don't need to worry, we'll try our hardest to not mock or tease you into another divine hissy fit."

Lincoln looked back up, and saw Luna giving him a reassuring smile, and Lily gave him a thumbs up as the musician finished:

"You can trust us."

And without warning, the sisters hugged their brother, with Clyde and Ronnie joining in soon afterwards. And once the shock had passed, Lincoln smiled in relief, and returned the hug while shedding a tear.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"But wait, why can everybody else take it?" the rocker folded her arms. "I mean, it doesn't make sense-"

"The purpose of the test doesn't require you to take it," Mrs. Johnson sternly stated as she walked to the door. "And for your own sake, I suggest you go back home right now. I'm serious, Luna."

The woman went inside, and Luna tried to sneak into the classroom, only to be blocked by what seemed like an invisible wall, which promptly sent her flying off into some lockers before the door closed.

"Oh Luan," Luna sighed in defeat. "I hope you're having better luck than me."


	37. Special Test

**So, I was checking chapter 35 to make sure the next one-shot of "Chains of Reality: Side Stories" didn't end up being non-canon (specially since it reveals a lot of information) and I noticed that I left a part unfinished. I completed it, but then I started to think, maybe I left a whole lot more of those in the earlier chapters.**

 **And I know it's kinda late to point that out, but I'm sorry about it. I'm... Well, the easiest way to say it is that I can get so focused on writing a chapter-which is often-that I end up forgetting to check for details, or I end up feeling so satisfied for it that I completely miss the incomplete parts. What I want to say is that, while the chapters are basically ready, certain parts can use some polish, but the general story _should_ still be easy to read and follow.**

 **Sorry for all that randomness just now XD**

 **Also, we're only focusing one single plot in this chapter. We do look at the perspective from other characters, but they're all centered on the same story.**

 **Anyway, let's move on.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lana, Lola, and Lucy ventured deeper into Carol's house in hopes of finding answers to their potentially billion questions, only for the twins-mostly Lana-to realize something that utterly boggled their mind: Carol was actually Lori and Leni's daughter!**

 **Meanwhile, the lincolnists showered Lincoln with praise and gifts and stuff, until they made the mistake to anger him, by trying to hurt the biker girl trio! This caused Lincoln to accidentally activate his divine powers and let out a roar that shook the whole house! Will he be able to control this power?**

 **What will happen next? Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: An Unexpected Special Test! Wait, What do You Mean the Louds Can't Take It?!"**

* * *

It was Wednesday, or at least, I think it was Wednesday, and Luna, Luan, Lola, Lana, and Lucy were heading for the school. Lisa had remained behind, because really, Lisa was basically a shut-in at this point, and Lincoln was back with Lily, so they had no reason to worry about them.

"Okay, here we are," Lola remarked with slight dread as the team went closer. "What are we supposed to do, again?"

"Luan and I will try to explain to the teachers why Lincoln can't come to school this week," Luna answered.

"And while we do that, you'll go take your classes as usual," Luan added. "If you have on classes for whatever reason, give us a call."

The younger Louds nodded, with Lana doing so a bit later than Lucy and Lola, and the team went inside to find the hallways... Completely empty. In fact, the school looked completely deserted. And this wouldn't be so unnerving if it was night, but it was clear as day, so the lack of activity was... Unexpected.

"Huh, the school seems emptier than usual," Luan remarked, only to see a tumbleweed pass by soon afterwards. "Actually, scratch that, it looks completely deserted."

"Well, everybody's probably already at their classrooms, getting ready for class," Luna guessed, scratching her chin as she thought about it. "Although, classes are supposed to start in 10 minutes, so why aren't they enjoying however much sweet freedom they have until then?"

"Perhaps they've fallen victims to learned helplessness," Lucy suggested, clasping her hands and looking at the ground with sympathy. "They probably just foudn out that no matter what they do, they'll have to go to school, so they went to their classrooms to wait for the inevitable punishment that is complete boredom."

"Wow, that's the most Lucy-like thing you've said this entire week," Lola blurted in shock.

"I know, right?" Lucy replied, putting her hands on her hips. "I haven't said something so poetic since I went to Haiku's sleepover."

After a couple seconds, Lola asked, "Haiku had a sleepover once?"

"It was more like she sent me pictures of her sleepover with Ronnie Anne and kept me up to date with it," the goth nonchalantly answered. "But I honestly felt like I was there! I honestly wish I could've been there."

"You could always just set up another sleepover with Ronnie, right?" the diva suggested with a shrug.

"Without Haiku, it wouldn't be the same."

"Alright, everybody, we're getting sidetracked," Luna stated. "We'll first go see what's going on, then we reunite back at the entrance, got it?"

Everybody nodded, and promptly separated.

 _Outside the 3rd Grade Classroom..._

Lucy walked straight to her classroom, and was about to go right past it before Rocky, Rusty Spokes' younger brother, stopped her on her tracks. "Lucy, what are you doing here?" he asked with worry.

"Rocky?" Lucy asked, her tone sounding relieved. "I'm just here to see what's going on in our classroom."

"I'm not really sure you should go inside," Rocky remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "According to the principal, the important test we have today isn't one you or your siblings are allowed to take."

"What? Why?"

"I asked him the same thing, but he didn't answer me," the redhead scratched his chin. "He did also say that if you were in the classroom when the teacher arrived, she'd kick you out, so maybe you can spend some time with us before she comes."

"Got it," Lucy nodded and was about to go inside, only to turn to the redhead and ask with a subtle smile, "Are you coming inside too? You and your brother really helped Polly and I calm down, and I wouldn't mind if you did that again."

The redhead briefly winced, almost as if he was offended, but quickly recomposed himself. "Sorry, Lucy, but I was set as standing guard to watch for any signs of Mr. Flip coming here."

"Flip? The guy from that spotty gas station?" the goth got a nod from the redhead in response. "What's he doing here?"

"No clue, but according to the principal, he'll replace our teacher for today."

"Thanks, Rocky."

Lucy opened the door and was immediately grabbed by Silas, who promptly helped her walk to her desk. "I'm sorry I have to invade your personal space, Lucy, specially knowing how you're nervous about that in general," the goth boy apologized. "But now that you're blind, and you don't have a way of knowing where you're going, I can't take any risk."

"Silas?" Lucy blurted, blushing a little before she realized something. "W-Wait, how did you find out I was blind?"

"I told him."

Lucy turned to the source of the voice, who was none other than Maggie. How did she find out about this? Because she managed to sense her aura among her classmates, with her eyes glowing white as she did. Surprisingly enough, though, unlike last time, Maggie now had only one arm: The other arm that was missing a hand was completely gone.

"In fact, I told everybody what happened at my house," Maggie added, swaying her hair to the right.

Lucy promptly hissed, "Including the part where you killed Giggles?!"

Lucy's classmates gasped, but were immediately driven silent by Maggie's stern glare.

"Tell me, Lucy, why do you point out Giggles?" the emo teenager inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Last time I checked, my cheer-up party was the first time you two ever met. And seeing how you only had a couple days before you had to pick a choice, I don't really see any possible way for you to have grown close enough to her that her death would actually matter to you."

"E-Even if we weren't close, that doesn't mean you had a reason to kill her!" Lucy snapped, stomping the ground and surprising her classmates. Maggie, however, was not impressed. "And nothing you do will ever make people forgive you for what you did!"

"Good, 'cause I'm not planning to try that anytime soon," the emo growled as she walked towards Lucy, all while she continued with a cold, blunt tone. "I know your type, you hold a grudge. And while I wouldn't blame you for doing so, in turn, you can't blame _me_ for not trying to atone for my mistakes, knowing that it won't get through a selfish, whiny brat like you."

Lucy grit her teeth, and her anger was soon replaced by fear as Maggie stopped right in front of her, with her shadow looming over the girl.

"I'm not even here for you anyway, I came here to bring a certain someone to her classes, and also to speak with Luan," the emo revealed in the same stern tone as before. "So, are you going to tell me where I can find her, or should I go look for her on my own?"

The classmates and Silas flinched, while Maggie just rolled her eyes in disappointment. And as she left the girl alone, Lucy promptly spoke:

"First, you make Haiku treat me like a trophy, a thing to win, then, you get Giggles killed, and now, you think you can just waltz in here and act like nothing had happened?! Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but-"

However, at this point, Maggie was already on her way out the classroom, which shocked Lucy.

"H-Hey! I'm not done scolding you for-!"

Maggie promptly shut her up:

"Shut up, Goth-O, nobody cares."

The emo left, and Lucy was left completely speechless.

But in vastly more interesting news, Maggie saw a nearby scene that immediately caught her eye: It was Clyde-or better known to her as "Blackjack"-being threatened by a furious bully.

Chandler, to be exact.

"Alright, spit it out, four eyes," the redhead spat as he pulled Clyde by the neck of his shirt. "Who was the one who convinced the teachers to force everybody but the Loud family, to take this day-long exam!?"

"I-I-I don't know, okay?!" Clyde said, clearly in fear. "I was caught off-guard by them making the exam too! Do you really think I would've approved of it if I had prior knowledge of it?!"

"Do I even need to say it?! You're exactly the kind of person that would approve of something like this!" Chandler snapped, forming a fist. "And unless you tell me who approved of this-"

Seeing the boy in danger, Maggie immediately leaped into action, with Chandler and Clyde barely catching sight of her before the emo, giving a furious look at Chandler, stated:

"Edgy punch!"

After saying that, Chandler was hit by Maggie's single punch so hard, he was basically sent flying all the way across the room and out a window, with Clyde gaping at the sight as Maggie dusted him and scanned him.

"Alright, that should take care of him for now," Maggie said, returning the nerd to reality. "Are you okay, Blackjack?"

Clyde, thanks to his past history with Maggie, immediately backed away into a much safer place. Which was apparently his locker.

"You know, doing what the bully was trying to do to you kinda defeats the purpose of me saving you from him," Maggie stated as she opened the locker and crouched down to see Clyde cowering in the corner. "Let me ask again; are you okay, Blackjack?"

"I would be, if you weren't... Well, you," Clyde answered before reluctantly crawling out of his locker. "After all, the whole "copycat Lucy" thing is still fresh in my mind."

"And do you really think I would've forgotten about it by now? I may have a lot of issues to work on, but that doesn't mean I'll just up and forget something so traumatic," Maggie looked at the ground and sighed. "If anything, now that I'm in a slightly better state of mind, I really wish I hadn't done the things I did."

Clyde frowned as Maggie elaborated:

"Forcing Lucy to choose between me and Haiku, trying to take control of the whole situation, killing Giggles... All those things, I regret wholeheartedly now. I could've taken this whole fiasco in so many ways, and I just had to take the worst one possible. Now, I don't think anybody's ever going to forgive me, or even going to let me forget this whole incident."

The emo took a deep breath and lowered her head, seemingly in defeat. And though Clyde did get a bit more sympathetic towards her, even trying to comfort her by rubbing her hair, he still felt really terrified of her.

"Blackjack, can I ask you a question?" the emo suddenly asked, and promptly got a nod from Clyde in response. "Is it wrong to not want to atone or apologize for past mistakes, knowing that people will never forgive you for it, and may remind you about it for days to come?"

"If that was the case... Then, I don't see the point," Clyde somberly answered, looking at the ground as he continued. "Although it depends. If people are willing to give you a chance and try to let bygones be bygones, then there is hope. If they refuse to shut up about your past mistakes and don't show any interest in letting it go, then... I don't know, why do you as me?"

Maggie sighed. "'Cause I want to apologize to you."

Clyde flinched and tilted his head in confusion.

"You were just another victim in that whole stuff, and yet, I acted antagonistic to everybody," the emo sulked. "And even if I didn't hurt you as badly as I did the rest, I still would like to apologize. It's probably pointless, but-"

"I get it."

Now it was Maggie's turn to flinch and tilt her head.

"This was supposed to be something between you, Lucy, and Haiku, right? It was inevitable that when Giggles, Luan, and I popped up, things would get really out of hand," the geek rubbed the back of his head. "I should've spoke about this with Haiku when I got the chance. Anyway, I'm not one to hold grudges, my da-I mean, my parents taught me that doing so isn't healthy, and in this case, most likely not a good idea.

Upon hearing that, Maggie smiled and looked back at the ground, but with relief. That is, until Clyde remembered something:

"Oh no, I'm supposed to be taking the exam too!" so the nerd got up and got ready to run. "Sorry Maggie, but-"

"Wait, before you go, do you have jelly or anything else that looks red in your locker?" the emo suddenly asked.

"I guess... Why the random question, though?"

Maggie smirked with a mischivieous nature. "I wanna give Luan a little surprise."

 _Meanwhile, at Lincoln's classroom..._

Luna knocked the door, hoping that she could manage to get whoever was inside to open it. However, while she could see there were several students inside-and Ronnie Anne, for some reason-nobody seemed to pay attention to her.

"Mrs. Loud?"

Luna winced and turned around to see Mrs. Johnson, holding several papers. She also seemed to be a bit tired.

"Mrs. Johnson, I thought you were inside," Luna remarked, only to quickly shake her head. "Anyway, I need to explain to you why Lincoln can't come to class today-"

"I know you want to justify his absence, but it won't be necessary," the redhead interrupted. "Today, there's a special test that none of your family members can take. Simply put, the test involves stuff you're not supposed to know yet."

"But wait, why can everybody else take it?" the rocker folded her arms. "I mean, it doesn't make sense-"

"The purpose of the test doesn't require you to take it," Mrs. Johnson sternly stated as she walked to the door. "And for your own sake, I suggest you go back home right now. I'm serious, Luna."

The woman went inside, and Luna tried to sneak into the classroom, only to be blocked by what seemed like an invisible wall, which promptly sent her flying off into some lockers before the door closed.

"Oh Luan," Luna sighed in defeat. "I hope you're having better luck than me."

 _Meanwhile, with Luan..._

The comedian and Mrs. DiMartino, who was inside a classroom, engaged in a short stare fight.

"Come on, DiMartino, open up!" Luan growled as she rubbed her seemingly injured nose. "Why did you need to close the door on me?!"

"We're in the middle of a very important exam, and you and your family members are not allowed to take it," Mrs. DiMartino hissed. "Now, you either leave by choice or are forced to leave, because I'm not going to waste my time talking to you."

With that said, Mrs. DiMartino went back to her desk and Luan, feeling rather upset, walked back to meet up with Luna. Or at least, she was doing that, until she suddenly saw the one-armed Maggie, with what seemed like blood all over her face and clothes. And then she whispered:

"Missed me?"

Luan shrieked and jumped back, crashing into some lockers as Maggie started to laugh out loud. And once she managed to calm down a bit, seeing the girl laughing after the scare gave the joker an idea of what just happened.

"Ohoho man, your family may be filled with assholes, but your reactions are always so good!" Maggie said in the middle of her laughter, confirming her suspicions. "I mean it, your face just now? Priceless."

"Wait, that was a joke?!" Luan exclaimed, earning a smug nod from Maggie. "That was terrifying! Why would you do something so horrible just for a laugh?!"

Maggie scoffed. "Says the girl who uses pranking as an excuse to hide her extreme enjoyment of the pain of others, and joking as an excuse to feel no guilt afterwards."

Luan narrowed her eyes and spat, "What makes you think that-"

Maggie's smile was changed for a frown as she sternly pointed out:

"Elementary School, April Fools Day."

Upon hearing that, the comedian fell silent and looked at the ground with regret, all while Maggie sternly glared at her. And then, Luan noticed Maggie's missing arm.

"Oh my goodness, your arm!" Luan exclaimed, taking a step back.

"Oh, that? Believe it or not, taking away the only person giving your and your sisters' counterparts solace caused them to get... A bit angrier," the emo nonchalantly responded, her stern glare intact. "And since she didn't have anybody else to vent her anger against, she decided to take it out on me."

"Are you feeling okay?" the comedian asked with worried as she reached for the teenager.

Maggie, however, just slapped her hand away.

"Tsk, you tricked me once into thinking you cared about my wellbeing, but I'll never let you trick me again," the emo hissed, then looked around. "Anyway, where's Luna? I need to verify whether you told her about Sam or not."

"Well, first, she's over at Lincoln's classroom, trying to explain his absence to his teacher, Mrs. Johnson," Luan sheepishly smiled. "And, uh, I haven't told her about Sam-"

"Of course, how could I ever expect you to do something nice for your sister? I'm sorry that I misjudged you oh so badly," Maggie growled in a melodramatic tone, no doubt grinding Luan's gears. "I bet you're going to wait until she sees Sam's true colors, and try to pass it off as a joke. That definitely sounds like something you'd do."

Though offended at the emo girl's remark, Luan's interest was struck, so she asked, "Is Sam's true nature really that bad?"

"...Luan, take it from someone who's had to live with Sam since she we were kids," Maggie sighed, and frowned, "Sam, in general, is a bit of a jerk, but nothing too insufferable. When Mick Swagger comes into the picture, though... Well, you've already seen what she's become."

Images of the incident at the graveyard flashed in Luan's mind. "I-I see..."

And as the comedian looked at the ground, Maggie walked to the door and knocked, getting DiMartino's attention.

"What do you want, Magdalene?" the woman asked.

"Um, my name's Maggie, thank you very much," the emo vehemently corrected. "Anyway, I saw you closing the door right on Luan's face. I approve of that, but still, why did you do it?"

"Because today there's an important exam that everybody who studies here, but the Louds, has to take for... Something we can't exactly tell anybody right now," DiMartino walked closer, and noticed Maggie's... State. "And speaking of which, what happened to your arm?"

"Oh right, my missing arm, I'm just trying to get into the latest fashion trends, nothing major or anything like that," Maggie rolled her eyes and grinned. "Apparently, missing one arm is a fashion statement this week. In fact, I heard the twins Lola and Lana Loud are trying to get into the trend too!"

Once Maggie was done with her joke, Luan groaned and whispered to herself, "Ugh, so this is what everybody feels like when they hear my jokes? Good lord."

"Well, I can't let you take the exam, then," DiMartino sighed. "So, all I can tell you is to go home. And don't try to force your way in, otherwise you'll be kicked out alongside Luan."

DiMartino went back to her desk once more, and Maggie just shrugged it off and stated, as she walked back to Luan:

"Alright, time for me to learn social competence."

And once she realized the emo was looking at her, Luan could only utter, in complete confusion: "What?"

"Listen, we both know I'm not the best when it comes to dealing with people. And since you seem to have an easy time with that-for whatever reason-then I need you to teach me how to be socially competent so I can tell Luna about Sam," Maggie explained, putting her hand on her hip. "I mean, if I can't trust you to tell her anything, specially after what happened in the graveyard, the only other person I can count on to tell her, is myself."

Luan narrowed her eyes, clearly trying to intimidate the emo. However, not only was Maggie unaffected, but she rather casually brought up a point:

"Listen up, keep in mind that if neither of us tell her anything, the only one who'll pay the prize will be her. If I don't tell her anything, I can continue being a douchebag, and if you don't tell her anything, you can continue being a douchebag who uses comedy as an excuse for her behavior. But if Luan doesn't find out at all, and she starts dating Sam, then it might not take long for her to realize the mistake she's done. She'll be dating somebody who's willing to kill her sister, just because she got in her way. Can you imagine how heartbroken she'll be when the truth comes to light?"

Luan started imagining it, and simply put, she was horrified.

"Huh, so you can imagine it. Even less reason to keep your damn mouth shut," Maggie shook her head. "Now, how about we stop wasting time, and get right on the social practice?"

The joker took a deep breath, and stated:

"I guess you're right, I might as well help you deliver the news to her."

 _Inside the classroom..._

DiMartino was checking some of her papers as her students were taking the exam, though it wasn't long before one of them raised their hands. And once she saw who it was, let's just say, she wasn't pleased.

"Yes, Sam?" DiMartino sternly asked.

Everybody turned to look at the blonde tomboy rocker with a blue highlight, who promptly gave DiMartino a smug look as she asked, "Who were you talking to outside? I figured you would've kicked Luan the instant she tried to speak to you, so it couldn't have been her."

"I was just talking with Maggie. You know, your sister," DiMartino narrowed her eyes. "And for goodness sake, take this exam seriously would you?! It's important to think about your answers!"

"Oh please, I'm the ultimate Swagger! I could answer a ton of nonsense I thought up on the spot, and I'd still end up passing it!" Sam boasted, with everybody rolling their eyes in exasperation. "There's no way that-"

Suddenly, she understood what that meant:

"Wait a minute, why is Maggie, of all people, allow to just skip the exam?!" Sam snapped, slamming her fist on her desk. "How is that fair-!?"

"Shut up, Samantha," Mrs. DiMartino growled. "And get your feet off the dang desk."

The musician immediately obliged, and DiMartino explained:

"Maggie is so far the only crippled student we've seen today, and as instructed by... The principal, the crippled are not allowed to take the exam."

"So all we have to do is cripple ourselves to skip it?!" Sam chirped before summoning her rainbow axe. "Alright, everybody round up, I'll-"

"Let me finish," DiMartino hissed. "The reason we don't let the crippled take the exam, is because they're less efficien at best and a complete liability at worst. And if you try to cripple yourself or anybody else now that the exam has started, you'll not only be forced to complete the test, but you'll face 2 hours of detention!"

Sam's axe vanished from existence as DiMartino finished with a stern tone:

"Now everybody focus on your tests. As that's the only thing we have for today, once you finish it you can go home, but until then, nobody leaves the school. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Mrs. DiMartino," the classroom answered in unison.

"Geez, what's up DiMartino today?" a random student whispered to Sam. "I've heard she's supposed to be kind and hot, and right now, she's only hot!"

"Whatever the case, It's better if we don't tick her off any further," the musician replied, rolling her eyes. "Although, once I meet that emo jerk again, I'll make sure to let Maggie know not to let this go up her head."

 _Meanwhile, with the twins..._

Lola and Lana looked around as they walked to the last classroom they needed to check: their own. And while Lola looked around as quickly as she could, Lana was a bit more hesitant.

"Lola, I honestly think we should just reunite with our sisters and go home," Lana told her younger twin sister, who continued looking around. "You heard the teachers say, multiple times, that we can't take whatever test they're doing today."

"We can't give up yet, Lana, there has to be one classroom where they're not doing that stupid anti-Loud test!" Lola answered without even looking at her sister. "And you know how mom hates it when we miss school, so-"

"Well, look who we got here."

The twins stopped right on their tracks and Lola frowned as she saw the source of the voice: Lindsey Sweetwater, leaning against the door.

"You know, when I came back from whatever dimension your copycat sent me in, I didn't expect to be immediately thrown into some sort of surprise exam," the redhead hissed as the twins walked to her, maintaining a stern stare fight with Lola. "The fact you had the audacity to come today just made my day... Even worse."

"You know, Lindsey, I was hoping we wouldn't see each other again after you tried to summon a copycat to kill me!" Lola hissed before poking Lindsey's eyes, causing her to close them and whine. "And besides, why wouldn't I come today? We still have school."

"Because today there's an exam, that your family Isn't allowed to take, for whatever stupid reason!" Lindsey spat, stomping the ground. "Didn't they tell you or anything?!"

The twins exchanged looks, and promptly shook their heads.

"Y-You weren't informed?" Lindsey inquired, once again earning a head shake. "No wonder mom and dad wanted me to be homeschooled, this school is complete-"

"So, let me get this straight," Lana blurted, catching the Lola clone's attention. "You're angry because there's an exam today, which we can't take for some reason?"

"I don't care about that!" Lindsey formed a pair of fists. "It's the fact that I'm being driven through the wringer once again, while your family gets to go back home and relax, even though I'm the one who's been tortured in another dimension for who knows how long!"

"Last time I checked, barely a week has passed since our copycats attacked," Lola pointed out.

" _I only spent a week in that place?! It felt like months!_ " Lindsey thought, then shook her head. "Whatever, point is, you're once again getting special treatment, despite not having done anything to deserve!"

"Um, excuse me," the twins showed their arm stumps. "We lost our arms a while ago!"

Lindsey stared at the arms in disbelief, and possibly even shock, though this was soon replaced by anger as she got the wrong idea.

"Alright you three, stop fighting."

The trio turned around and saw Mrs. Shrinivas walking to them, looking a little bit tired as well as drained.

"Lisa's teacher?" the twins asked in unison.

"Lindsey, you and your classroom's teacher will come soon enough, try to stay focused on your standby duty," the woman told the redhead, who nodded and returned to her work. "Lola, Lana, because you're technically crippled, you're not allowed to take the exam. Only people who are fully healthy can take it."

"That makes sense," Lana remarked, then grabbed Lola's arm. "Come on, sis, let's reunite with Luna and Luan."

"Wait, before you go, I need to ask you something," Shrinivas blurted. "Where's Lisa?"

"She said she had something very important to work on today, so she refused to come with us," Lola explained, while Lindsey bitterly rolled her eyes. "In fact, she told us it was so important, she probably would have to miss months before she was free again."

And with that said, the twins left, while Shrinivas watched them leave. And with a worried look, she thought:

" _She's working on something so important she has to miss months of school? And alongside her medical condition... Lisa... What are you doing?_ "

 _Meanwhile, back with Luan and Maggie..._

The comedian and the emo sat on a bench, with Luan holding a couple of small papers while Maggie sat next to her. And by next to her, I meant right at the other edge of the bench.

"Alright, Maggie-" Luan said, only to notice where the emo was. And of course, she went a little bit closer before she continued. "I got some questions to see if you know proper good language. Are you ready?"

Maggie just shrugged with an "I dunno" face and a derpy cat smile. Though the sight did make Luan chuckle, it also made her rather nervous.

"Okay, let's start with something easy: What do you call a girl who treats their love interest in a manner much tougher than most?"

"A douchebag," Maggie answered with a deadpan look.

Luan held her laughter. "Okay, yeah, I kinda walked myself into that one. Now, what do you call a girl that has a big heart, but is not the sharpest tool in the shed?"

"A Leni," Maggie said, once again with a deadpan look.

"Alright, once again, I walked myself into that one. And also, I'd appreciate it if you didn't make fun of my sisters again," Luan gave Maggie the "I'm watching you" gesture before continuing. "Okay, this one is so easy there's no way you could mess it up: What do you call a girl that acts like a dog from time to time?"

Maggie rolled her eyes. "A bitch."

"It's official, you're a lost cause in the communication department," Luan exclaimed as she threw her papers in the air. "How and why are you so bad at it is beyond me though."

"Well, I did partially say some of those things to annoy you," the emo confessed, earning a baffled stare from Luan. "And by some, I mean all of them."

The comedian promptly kicked Maggie in the face, but it didn't seem to faze her. "You jerk! I thought you wanted to learn how to speak properly so you could speak with Luna!"

"I was, but I figured that I needed some good laughs after returning from the dimension of your counterparts," the emo gently put Luan's leg down. "And before you ask, no, I'm not going to tell you about any information I may have gotten from my stay there. I'd rather forget about it as soon as possible."

"W-Whatever, I'm not going to waste my time teaching you how to be social if you're not going to take it seriously!" Luan folded her arms and turned away. "So, unless you-"

"Luan," Maggie interrupted, causing the comedian to flinch. "Do you care about your sister? And do you care about Luna, first and foremost?"

The comedian lowered her arms, and answered while rubbing her arm, "We may not get along all the time, but I really do care about my siblings. And since Luna and I share a room, I know her the best, so of course I'm going to care about her."

The emo smiled, and stated with a confident smile:

"You know what? I'm going to give you another chance."

Luan tilted her head. Maggie? Giving her another chance? Now that was something she didn't hear everyday.

"Prove to me that you're willing to tell Luna the truth, even if it hurts her," the emo resumed. "I'll come to your house this weekend, probably through the window or some other way that will make sure nobody hears me, and if you've told her the truth, then congratulations, you're on your way to redeem yourself in my eyes."

And of course, Luan couldn't help but ask, "But what if I don't tell her anything before the weekend?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll go see Luna first," Maggie nonchalantly revealed, sending a chill up Luan's spine. "If she doesn't know what I'm talking about, then I'll know you got cold feet. But I'm giving you plenty of time, so it shouldn't be that hard, right?"

Luan nervously smiled and pulled a thumbs up. "R-Right..."

And so, the emo bid farewell and started to walk away, only to suddenly remember something.

"Luan, I'd like to apologize for two things," Maggie suddenly stated, catching Luan's attention. "The first is the fact that I never got to ask you, "Do you want to make people other than you laugh?"

" _She meant to ask me that?_ " Luan thought, partially flattered, yet partially worried. "But, our senses of humor are complete opposites-"

"Luan, this is the part where you give me an answer."

The comedian returned to reality and turned to see Maggie giving her a stern look. "I'm waiting."

"Oh, she was asking for real?!" Luan took a deep breath. "Y-Yes, I want to make people laugh-"

"That's enough, say no more," Maggie blurted, and looked away. "The second thing I wanted to apologize for was the fact that I had some advice, but I never told you about it. And it's fairly simple: If you really want to make people laugh, then don't laugh and ask them if they got it after you've made the joke."

Luan blinked as she thought about it, and Maggie finished:

"If your joke really was funny, people will laugh. And if it wasn't, they'll either remain silent or boo you. But no matter the outcome, you must let your audience laugh themselves. Otherwise, you'll just end up entertaining nobody. And also... Making fun of other people, isn't funny."

And so, Maggie started to walk away, just as Luan recolected her thoughts and said, with a wide smile:

"Thanks for the advice, Maggie! I'll make sure to act upon it right away!"

The emo faltered and slowly turned to face Luan, but she quickly shook off the statement and continued walking away, all while Luan cheerfully laughed and waved goodbye.

And Maggie smiled, for hearing Luan's laughter again-and without the stupid "get it?" afterwards-was like music to her ears.

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"I didn't notice it before, but several of the people here look like the lincolnists we faced before," Ronnie said as Polly and Tabby soon joined in her scanning. "In fact, I can even see some of them! The sweater girl, the baker duo, the three bikers, I don't see Paige though, but I'm not really going to complain about that."

"Are you talking about the same people that were marching a while ago?" Polly raised her eyebrows in amazement. "You mean Lincoln has this many followers?!"

"Even if this isn't the whole group, good lord," Tabby remarked, with slight pity in her tone. "I thought my dad was popular with the ladies, but Lincoln has him beat by several dozen, maybe even a hundred. Then again, dad's popular with _actual_ ladies rather than little girls, so..."

And then, Polly took one quick glance at a particular girl, who made feels of both resentment and anger surge within her. This was a certain buck-toothed brunette, one that Lynn had the bad idea to reveal she replaced her with.

It was Margo.


	38. Test Results

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, some of the Loud sisters decided to go to school in order to try and explain Lincoln's absence, but they were in the middle of an exam the Louds themselves couldn't take! An exam presumably done by the defense forces themselves! And not only that, but after spending some time in the original reality, Maggie and Lindsey suddenly returned back to the new reality!**

 **That's about it, really.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 38: The Results Are Up! Welcome to R.W. Defense Academy!**

* * *

 _Thursday, the Santiagos house..._

It was the day after the exam, and Ronnie Anne, alongside Bobby, sat on the couch as they waited for their mother to return. She was currently at the school to get the result of Ronnie Anne's exam, just like the parents of every other kid who took the test-exam-thing.

"Nie Nie, if you're worried about the results of your test, don't worry about it," Bobby said as he put a comforting hand on Ronnie's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll get good results. Remember, the way the test was set up, there's no real way to fail it."

"I'm not really worried for the results," Ronnie answered, looking strictly at the ground. "I'm more worried about the purpose of that test. After all..."

 _Ronnie's flashback..._

The tomboy-now sitting in Cristina's spot at Lincoln's classroom, for some reason-took a look at her test questions with an incredulous look.

" _Some of those questions..._ "

Three of these surprising questions were:

Do you prefer martial arts or weaponry?

Would you rather fight on the air or on the ground?

Would you be willing to go other dimensions?

" _They were really... Disturbing._ "

 _Back in the present..._

Ronalda narrowed her eyes as she continued, "Whether because they talked about weird subjects, like bearing Lincoln's child, or something more fitting for someone in the military, like what type of weapon I thought I could use best."

Then, she couldn't help but ask, "Bobby, did you take the exam too at your school?"

"Well, here's the thing, since I don't go to the same school you do, I had to take the test online," the young man answered, scratching the back of his head. "However, my results won't come out until much later, and according to the principal of your school, the tests are the same whether they're done online or not."

"So you saw the weird questions, right?" Ronnie inquired, earning a nod in response. "What do you think about them?"

Just as Bobby got ready to answer, Mrs. Santiago suddenly kicked the door open and stated:

"We're going to Royal Woods' School!"

The siblings didn't really react that much, besides asking "why?" in unison.

"Listen, I spoke with the principal, and he thought it would be much better if all the students gathered around to see what they got," Mrs. Santiago answered, putting her hands on her hips. "And they're not going to wait for anybody, so you better get ready, and fast."

Upon hearing that, the brother and sister duo exchanged looks and sighed before getting ready to go out.

 _Sometime later, at the school grounds..._

Ronnie and her mother walked to the school grounds, where several of the students-both teeens and kids-had gathered around to get their results. An odd feature was that there was a stage right in the middle of the grounds, a fairly grand one as well, probably more fitting for some theatre or drama rather than anything school-related. It also had a large monitor hanging at the top of it.

"Wow, there's so many people gathered here," Ronnie remarked as she took a look around. "Although, I still don't get why you told Bobby to get ready to go out if he could just see his results online."

"I was telling him mostly to get him ready for work early, you know how he has a bad habit of getting ready for work at the last minute," Mrs. Santiago sighed. "Now, stay here and don't cause any trouble, alright? I'll go reunite with the teachers."

The woman and daughter waved goodbye, and Ronnie was soon left alone along the crowd of students, although it wasn't long before she spotted a pair of familiar figures: A kid rockstar with a purple highlight, and a roller skater with pink roller skates, who seemed to notice her as well.

"Polly?!"

"Ronnie?!"

Both girls squealed as Ronnie ran towards Polly, followed by her leaping and being caught by the roller skater, who hugged her as tightly as she moved from left to right.

All while Tabby just watched them with a smile.

Once she noticed her, Ronnie raised her palm and smiled as Tabby said, with a deadpan tone:

"Nice to see you too."

Polly put Ronnie down, and the duo waited for Tabby to give Ronnie the high five she was expecting, but she did absolutely nothing. Rather, she put her hands on her pockets and said with a stern tone just as Ronnie started to grow nervous:

"We're not friends yet, remember?"

Upon hearing that, Ronnie put her hand behind her head and scratched as she nervously tried to laugh it off.

"O-Oh right, I completely forgot about that! Sorry about that!" she sheepishly said before turning to Polly. "So, what brings you guys here? I didn't see you in my classroom."

"Yeah, since we don't go to the same school and our own school refused to do the test, we had to do it online," Polly answered with a shrug. "And of course, once we did it, we had to wait until they called us to show us our results, and here we are now."

"In my case, I came here by Sam's request," Tabby added with a tired sigh. "And by coming by her request, I mean that I was literally dragged here because Sam wanted to seem my results too."

Speak of the devil, and she will send one of her minions instead, for Sam walked up to the trio soon afterwards.

"Hi Tabby! Hi Tabby's girlfriend! Hi random weirdo I've never met before!" Sam cheerfully greeted her sister, Polly, and Ronnie, respectively. "Are you as excited as I am for the results of the test?"

"I think the real question is why you're excited in the first place," Tabby pointed out, with Polly nodding in agreement. "I mean, if I remember correctly, you were complaining the whole time we were walking back home yesterday."

"Hey, to be fair, that partially had to do with the fact that I found out Maggie had come back, and wasn't going to be sent to jail straight away," Sam pointed out, with bitter disgust rather evident in her tone. She then turned cheerful as she continued. "And I'm excited because Mrs. Johnson told me that, if we passed with the results she expects, then we would actually end up going deeper into the school, into a location most people don't even know about!"

"Thanks for letting me know, I'll be sure to hide there whenever you want to hang out with me," Tabby scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Ronnie and Polly laughed out loud as Sam got back up and took a deep breath before muttering, "Just, try to get yourself hyped for the results, okay? This is going to be something big!"

"Yeah, like a big waste of time," Ronnie added, putting her hands on her hips. "Or perhaps even a big joke made by the teachers?"

"No, I asked Mrs. Johnson about that, and she said the test was completely real," Sam turned back to the stage. "She told me we had to wait until today to find out what it was for, though. And judging from the large crowd, we're not the only ones in the dark."

Ronnie took another look around, and soon noticed something that made her feel nervous, which Polly soon noticed. "What's wrong, Ronnie?"

"I didn't notice it before, but several of the people here look like the lincolnists we faced before," Ronnie said as Polly and Tabby soon joined in her scanning. "In fact, I can even see some of them! The sweater girl, the baker duo, the three bikers, I don't see Paige though, but I'm not really going to complain about that."

"Are you talking about the same people that were marching a while ago?" Polly raised her eyebrows in amazement. "You mean Lincoln has this many followers?!"

"Even if this isn't the whole group, good lord," Tabby remarked, with slight pity in her tone. "I thought my dad was popular with the ladies, but Lincoln has him beat by several dozen, maybe even a hundred. Then again, dad's popular with _actual_ ladies rather than little girls, so..."

And then, Polly took one quick glance at a particular girl, who made feels of both resentment and anger surge within her. This was a certain buck-toothed brunette, one that Lynn had the bad idea to reveal she replaced her with.

It was Margo.

"Polly, Love, listen, I know the events of the intervention must still be in your memory, but hear me out, don't fight her," Tabby told Polly once she realized how angry she was getting. "You're going to get us into much more trouble than we need to!"

"I agree with Tabby," Ronnie added as she helped restrain the tomboy. "With so many people surrounding us, there's no way you can get away with fighting Margo! We could probably get detention."

Polly's anger soon turned into confusion.

Tabby took this as her growing disappointed, so she said, "Polly, I know you want some sweet revenge, but-"

"Are you guys looking at her?" Polly asked.

The trio turned and saw Margo's face was changing expressions: First angry, then confused, then worried, and so on and so forth.

"She seems to be in some sort of facial performance," Polly added, folding her arms. "It's honestly creeping me out. Somebody needs to do something about that."

"I know! I could go get popcorn so we can watch the show!" Ronnie chirped before turning to Tabby. "Do you prefer normal, buttered, or candy popcorn?"

The rocker just nonchalantly replied, "You mean house, movie, and everything else?"

Before the pair could continue their popcorn discussion, Polly easily-almost effortlessly-freed herself from their grasp and walked towards Margo, who was lost in thought as she continued to change her facial expressions:

" _Fantastic, this is just what we needed! First, sister Lily goes missing and the other sisters go nuts because of it, and now, Lincoln decided to play favorites and get angry because we were about to punish Pravuil, Mindy, and Cindy for not giving him any gifts! I mean, I know he's supposed to work in mysterious ways, but-_ "

And just as Margo continued to get lost in thought, Polly slapped her, immediately returning her to reality.

"Hey, dude, what the heck was that all about?!" Margo snapped at the roller skater. "Why did you slap me just now!?"

"You looked like you were doing some sort of facial performance," Polly answered.

And as she continued to explain herself, Polly pointed to some fellow students who were looking at the pair with confusion, only to focus on other things. "And judging by the people around us, you were acting rather weird."

"Whatever, that doesn't mean you can just slap me like it was your only option!" Margo scolded, putting her hands on her hips. "I mean, couldn't have you called me or snapped your fingers in my face or something?"

"I could have," Polly smirked. "But it wouldn't be nearly as satisfying."

It wasn't long before Ronnie and Tabby got in between Margo and Polly, and just in time too, since both girls cracked their knuckles, ready to dish it out.

"Whoa, there, let's not do anything crazy here!" Ronnie exclaimed, trying to stop Polly Pain.

"You two know we're surrounded by several dozen people, right?" Tabby pointed out to Margo. "If you two end up fighting, someone will tattle on us and who knows how you're going to be punished for-"

"Shut up, British copycat, this is between me and your girlfriend!" Margo snapped, pushing Tabby hard enough to make her crash into Ronnie. "Now step aside before I decided to beat up all three of you!"

Tabby's eyes glowed rainbow as she hissed, "What did you call Polly?!"

"Stop!" Ronnie exclaimed, getting the girls' attention. The lincolnists and Margo in particular. "Listen, fighting won't do any good! I'm all up for a good beating here and there, but this isn't the time or the place to do it! So please, settle down, and let's just put this under the bridge, alright?"

Margo blinked twice as she stared at Ronnie, partially in awe, and seemingly partially with bitter resentment. Though the resentment turned into begrudging respect as she said:

"Once a Sister-Lover, always a Sister-Lover. Not to mention that Cristina did choose you and not Paige to carry on the title, so your word has much more importance than hers will ever have."

Ronnie, Polly, and Tabby tilted their heads in utter confusion, prompting Margo to finish:

"Fine, I'll do as you ask and leave this little issue alone. But next time I meet that steel-chinned brat, she better not inquire my rage, or else I'm going to tear her a new one so big, the entire Royal Woods roller skating team will fit in it!"

Margo left, and as the trio saw her leave, Ronnie took the chance to quip, "Geez, sounds like someone's been hanging out with Lynn, am I right?"

"Perhaps a bit more than she should," Polly remarked, narrowing her eyes. "I really wish Lynn didn't have that sort of effect on people."

"Sister-Lover?" Tabby blurted, utterly dumbfounded. "Ronnie, what is she talking about?"

"I don't have a clue; Paige talked about that Sister-Lover thing as well, but the way she said it implied that I'm supposed to know about that already," the Hispanic tomboy sighed in frustration and put her hands on her pockets. "And before you ask, no, I don't know a single thing about this Sister-Lover thing."

With that said and done, the trio continued to wait for their results. Or at least, Polly and Tabby did, since Ronnie's attention was soon caught by a familiar voice:

"Alright, I'm going to ask you one more time."

Ronnie turned to look at the source of the voice, and found a fairly upsetting sight: Chandler, a popular redhead in school, talking with Clyde, who looked sincerely worried and scared, while the biker trio tried to get the redhead's attention.

"Do you know or not know anything about who got the brilliant idea for yesterday's test?" Chandler asked, folding his arms and taking a deep breath.

"I already told you, Chandler, I don't have any idea of who got the idea to do that," Clyde answered, taking a step back as the redhead narrowed his eyes. "I was caught just as off-guard as everybody else about the test, okay?"

"You should listen to him, Brother Chandler," Pravuil nervously told the freckled guy, catching his attention.

"Have you forgotten Luna's lessons? We're only supposed to refer to each other as "Brother" and "Sister" while we're at the church, we're not allowed to do it anywhere else," Chandler growled, gently prickling the girl's head. "You're lucky none of our fellow "siblings" caught your transgression, or else, you would've paid dearly for it."

Then he caught a glimpse of Ronnie, who threw a furious glare at him, which prompted him to turn back to Clyde and growl, "Eitherway, I don't have time to waste with you."

Chandler promptly left both the dark-skinned geek and the biker trio, all while they waved to Ronnie Anne, clearly grateful for her subtle help. And yet, Ronnie could only focus on Chandler as he left.

"Infamous C," Ronnie uttered in disgust. "So he took the test too?"

"Ronnie, why are you looking at that guy?" Tabby inquired, getting the tomboy's attention, though she kept glaring at Chandler. "Do you know him?"

"He's a bully known as Chandler," Ronnie answered, gritting her teeth.

"A bully, huh?" Tabby raised an eyebrow and jokingly asked, "What, are you two friends or something?"

"Tabby, you know it's not nice to make such an assumption," Polly told her friend as she gave her a look of disapproval. "Just 'cause Ronnie knows who he is and that he's a bully doesn't mean the two were friends or anything."

"He's also known as The Infamous C," Ronnie continued, which immediately caught the duo's attention. "Ever since an incident at Gus' Games and Grub, he's been going from building to building, from arcade to arcade, driving employees into debts by tricking random, stupid people into doing things for him."

"Oh, you mean the guy who had his birthday party at the sewage plant?" Polly blurted, snapping her fingers. "Yeah, I've heard of him too. He's apparently a jerk."

"Polly, him being a jerk isn't a possibility," Ronnie narrowed her eyes. "It's a fact."

"Are you sure you two didn't used to be friends?" Tabby raised an eyebrow, still not convinced there was nothing between the tomboy and the redheaded jerk. "I can totally see you and him having been friends at one point."

Polly shot a glare at Tabby. "Seriously, Ta-"

"No, Polly, let her speak," Ronnie sighed, going from anger to regretful in a moment. "Truth is... She's sort of right. You see-"

"Hello? Is this on?"

Everybody turned to look at the stage, where Mrs. Johnson was talking on a microphone while Mrs. DiMartino, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Santiago, and several other teachers standing at the stage.

"Sorry for the delay, students, but the results will come out soon," the redheaded woman said, clasping her hands as she added, "We just need to wait for one more teacher to arrive, and then, we'll let you know what your test results actually are."

"There's another teacher?" Clyde asked in confusion. "Well, who could it possibly-"

"Here! I! Come!"

Suddenly, a yellow ball of what seemed like energy fell down and crash landed right on top of the stage, with the ensuing crash causing the entire ground to shake, and everybody to try to keep their balance.

Once the dust dispersed, it was revealed that Mr. Universe-alongside Lindsey, who was sitting on his shoulder, and oddly enough wearing Maggie's sweater-was standing on the spot had crashed at. He was also laughing, but this wasn't any normal laughter; it was a laughter of pure joy.

"I have arrived!" the muscular blonde man exclaimed, before pointing at the girl on his shoulder. "With my daughter!"

"Mr. Universe?!" Sam exclaimed in disbelief.

"He's the new teacher?!" Clyde shouted, utterly dumbfounded.

"Who is he?" the trio of Polly, Tabby, and Ronnie asked in unison.

"Hmph, I figured people of your kind would have no idea about this man," Chandler scoffed as he approached the trio, instantly earning looks from them. "Mr. Universe just so happens to be one of the most well-known and popular beauty contest participants in the whole world. Ever since his debut a decade ago, he's been the undefeated champion of the Royal Woods beauty contest ever since he and his family moved into the city.

"And exactly how do you know all this stuff about him?" Ronnie asked, folding her arms and secretly hoping

"Because I just so happen to be friends with his daughter, Lindsey Sweetwater!" the boy revealed with a smug smirk.

Ronnie's jaw dropped to the ground and Polly flinched in disbelief, while Tabby just shrugged and acted fairly indifferent to this statement. And as Chandler walked up to Lindsey, she explained why:

"Listen girls, whatever this guy says, we got nothing to worry about. I may not have a high opinion of Sam, but when it comes to people who wants to hurt, I can always count on her to protect me, and I'll make sure she protects you too," then she turned to her sister. "Right, Sam?"

Once the trio saw Sam shaking and looking generally afraid, they all agreed in their minds:

" _On second thought, we might be screwed._ "

The redheaded guy ran towards the Lola copycat, who slid down her father's body-phrasing-until she landed safely on the ground.

"Lindsey, I need you and your father's help!" Chandler said once he reached Lindsey. "Yesterday, a bully messed with me and punched me straight in the face-!"

"Assuming they're even here in the first place, were you bullying someone when they punched you?" Lindsey asked with a stern look.

With hesitation, Chandler said, "Yes-"

"Then you deserved it."

The redhead looked at the ground in exasperation as he heard Ronnie and some other girls laugh from afar, though he did chirp up when he noticed Lindsey's sweater. "I like your sweater, by the way."

"Thanks, it's a gift from a friend," Lindsey clasped her hands and eyed her sweater. "The same friend that helped me get back here, in fact, so I really treasure it."

"Now that you mention getting back here, where the heck did you go?" Chandler suddenly asked, scratching his chin. "Your parents and I were looking for you for a week, but we couldn't find you anywhere."

"Well, I don't like to go into detail about it, but let's just say I wasn't really anywhere in Royal Woods," Lindsey twiddled her fingers and rolled her eyes. "In fact, you could say I was in an entirely different world altogether."

"I don't think I follow."

"That's good."

"Alright, the results are up!" Mrs. Johnson exclaimed, catching everybody's attention. "Now, we'll first show you the results, then we'll show you where you're going to go from now on, alright? Good, then let's begin!"

The teachers clapped twice, and the screen at the top of the stage turned on to reveal a list. On this list were four classes: Attacker, Support, Defender, and Gadget.

In order, Ronnie and Polly were in the Attacker class, Tabby was on the Support class, Sam was on the Defender class, and Clyde was on the Gadget class, with several other classmates fairly spread out around the list.

"Attacker class?" Ronnie and Polly blurted in unison.

"Support class..." Tabby deadpanly said, almost as if she didn't care.

"Defender class?!" Sam exclaimed, sounding slightly disappointed.

"Gadget class!" Clyde shouted in joy, jumping up and down.

"If anybody needs a better clarification for what class you were put in, we'll give you a bigger, more clear version of this chart after "For now, we need all of you to follow us into the school in order to show you where you're going to take your classes from now on."

And so, the teachers lead the large number of students into the deeper part of the school building, with the biker trio and Clyde reuniting with Polly and Ronnie as they went inside. But while the trio simply hugged Polly, Clyde actually spoke to Ronnie:

"Sorry to bother you, Ronnie, but I wanted to thank you from before. Chandler may not have been as aggressive as yesterday, but I was still worried he would just up and explode at any moment, you know?"

" _So Chandler was bullying him yesterday too..._ " Ronnie mentally growled in disgust, only to cheerfully answer, "It's okay, Clyde, I just couldn't let Chandler hurt you or the biker trio."

"Well, he didn't really look like he was going to beat me or those three up, but still, I appreciate the-"

Suddenly, Clyde's phone rang.

"Give me a moment, I have to answer this," Clyde took out his phone and greeted with a cheerful voice, "Hello?"

The voice on the other end, however...

"How dare you greet me over the phone, rather than on person!?"

They weren't nearly as happy.

"Nice to talk with you again, boss," Clyde said, only to whisper as he continued, "Lisa, I'm in the middle of something important, could you call me later?"

"What could be more important than my greatest achievemet?!" Lisa snapped from the other end at the top of her lungs. Good thing her whining wasn't hear by anybody else. "Need I remind you of what will happen if you refuse to help me?!"

"Listen, I know how important this is for you, and what will happen if I can't help you," Clyde shivered. "However, if you let me tell you what I'm in the middle of, then you'll agree that it's a much bigger concern than-"

"Fine then, I'll be compassionate for once and give you a chance to explain yourself," Lisa answered, clearly growing impatient. "Now tell me, what is this oh so important matter that is apparently much more important than the ultimate weapon in the defense of Royal Woods?!"

"There was a test yesterday that caught everyone by surprised and we had to do it," Clyde started explaining rather casually. "Today, we're going to get the results for the test."

"...Dang it, that really is more important!" the young prodigy whined, sounding like she was about to go into a temper tantrum. "Fine, go and see your stupid test results, but once you're done, I want you to come here right away, no ifs or buts!"

Clyde just nodded and hung up before sighing in a clearly exhausted manner. Whatever business he and Lisa had, it seemed to be draining him.

"Who was that person you were talking to just now?" Ronnie asked in disbelief. "Whoever they are, they sound like a jerk."

Polly and Ronnie exchanged looks and promptly cracked their knuckles as they said in unison, "Need help beating them up?"

"The fact you're so quick to agree to beat someone up for me scares me a little," Clyde nervously answered.

"You and me both, dude," Tabby remarked nearby.

"Attention, everyone!"

Everybody stopped and looked around to see they were now in the middle of some underground facility, with the acronym "R.W.D.A" hanging on the ceiling, and with a large monitor underneath it and above the teachers-and Mr. Universe-who were standing on another stage, surrounded by the dumbfounded and awestruck students.

"We welcome you all to the brand new facility you'll be training at for an upcoming situation!" Mrs. Johnson exclaimed, lifting her arms as she added. "The Royal Woods Defense Academy! Or RWDA for short."

The students immediately started murmuring between each other. Some were excited for this brand new take on school. Some were curious as to how their training would even be done. And of course, there were the ones that thought that this was just some weird joke.

"We had a feeling you'd be filled with questions."

Everybody turned around back to the stage, where they saw Rita and Lynn Sr., the Loud parents, walk towards the podium. They also managed to see Mrs. DiMartino looking angrily at them, while Mr. Universe seemingly scoffed and looked away.

"Questions we're going to answer right now," Rita stated, putting her hands on her hips. "So go ahead, ask away!"

"What's the point of this whole thing?" a random kid asked.

Rita sighed and shook her head. "I figured that'd be the first question, so let's summarize the deal: We're part of one of several realities, which will be explained to you later on. For now, just know that our reality is one of many more, and the makers of this realities are our "children," our daughters and Lincoln. In fact, Lincoln is actually the avatar of a much higher being, the same being that created everything in fact-"

"Wait a minute, doesn't anybody else find it weird so much attention's being given to Larry?" Chandler pointed out.

"His name's Lincoln!" everybody else shouted at the guy.

"O-Okay, his name's Lincoln, I'll try to remember that," Chandler sighed. "Okay, again, is nobody baffled that Lincoln's being presented as this divine being? I mean, is he really worthy of being called as such?"

"Well, he's much more worthy than you could ever hope to be," Pravuil scoffed. "And besides, the only way to find out for sure is to see his godlike power in action. Do you really wanna do such a risky gamble?"

Everybody else went "hmmm?" at the redhead, who quickly got the message.

"Fair enough, let's assume Lincoln really is as important and godlike and whatever other nonsense you wanna tell us," Chandler spat, rolling his eyes. "Why exactly is he so important? I mean if the universe is as big as it is, then why would something attack our city of all places?"

"There's this group of ancient humanoid beings known as the Progenitor Sisters, the mothers of the ones you know as the Loud sisters, of the Loud family. How that makes sense doesn't matter right now, trust us," Rita folded her arms. "What does matter, is that they're planning to invade our reality, and destroy every other existence that there is, unless the guy we know as Lincoln Loud can take them out."

"In order to prepare for this upcoming invasion, we built this facility in order to teach you how to manage several different key factors in the successful protection of Royal Woods," Lynn Sr. added as he continued. "These classes are based on attacking enemies, supporting every other unit, defending significant locations or people, and of course, create that gadgets that will be used to attack the invaders."

"So that's the reason why the tests were done in the first place," Clyde remarked, scratching his chin as he thought about it. "They wanted to know what class to put us at in order to prepare for whatever is going to happen."

"Still, I'm not sure if they needed to tell us about these "Progenitor" sister people," Ronnie sighed, putting her hands on her pockets. "I mean, essentially turning into kid soldiers is stressful enough, knowing about those all-powerful or whatever isn't going to ease our worries!"

"Are you scared of what we're going to be doing from now on?" Polly asked, putting a hand on Ronnie's shoulder.

"It's not that I'm scared," Ronnie looked away. "It's just that I'm feeling overwhelmed by all this pressure being put on our shoulders."

Soon afterwards, Clyde put a hand on Ronnie's remaining shoulder, and said, "Ronnie, whatever happens, we won't have to do it alone."

Ronnie exchanged looks with Polly, who nodded with a reassuring smile, and Clyde, who nodded as well. Just as she smiled in relief, though, someone yelled:

"Hey! I got a complaint!"

The teachers-and everybody for that matter-turned to look at Sam, who had her hand held up high. And as she lowered it, Tabby tried to hide behind Ronnie and Polly with a look that screamed "Oh lord, please don't embarrass me" all over it.

"Okay, putting teenagers like me and several other unimportant people into what amounts to military training is one thing," Sam shouted, no doubt earning the ire of any other teens around her. "But why, for the love of everything, are the children being put into danger?!"

"Oh my goodness, Sam is just straight up asking a legitimate question!" Tabby remarked in amazement. "She usually unintentionally embarrasses me before doing so."

"I mean, my baby sister can barely even tolerate getting her ears pierced before screaming bloody murder!" Sam nonchalantly added, clearly upset. "Do you know how traumatized she'll get by being put straight on the battlefield?!"

"And there's the Sam I know and barely tolerate everyday," Tabby bitterly said, hiding once more.

"Ah yes, you must be Samantha "Swagger" Jr, aren't you?" Mrs. DiMartino remarked, earning a slightly nervous nod from Sam in return. "Well, we got several complaints such as yours, from younger people to parents alike."

DiMartino threw a smug look at Lynn Sr. and Rita. "Some more pointless or hypocritical than others."

Rita formed a fist, and only managed to calm down thanks to Lynn Sr. rubbing her head.

"But, to answer your question, think about it like this: We're giving you the chance to defend yourselves against these upcoming threats," DiMartino stepped forward and shrugged. "I mean, would you really rather stand at the sidelines and possibly die, completely defenseless and helpless?"

Then, she formed a fist and raised it high as she added:

"Or would you rather learn how to fight, so you can repel back those interdimensional invaders, and prove to them, that we won't let them destroy our reality?! That if they want to take away our lives, then they'll have to fight for it!"

All the students immediately cheered, unanimously agreeing with Mrs. DiMartino's pep speech. Although, Tabby was certainly cheering in a more subdued and subtle manner than everybody else, which caught Ronnie's attention. However, she waited until the cheering had calmed down before approaching her.

"So, Tabby, sorry for bringing this up out of nowhere," Ronnie blurted, catching the rockstar's attention. "But... Why do you seem so upset today? I mean, I'm not saying you were a happy-go-lucky girl the last few times we met, but you seem rather... Stern and deadpan today."

"Maggie went back home yesterday, but I didn't even manage to spend that much time with her before some police officers took her away. They barged into our house, said something about how Maggie had to be jailed for causing so much death and destruction, and they practically snatched her before she could even defend herself."

Upon hearing that, Ronnie fell silent, not knowing what to say next.

On the one hand, it was obvious that it was a matter of time before Maggie was made to pay for all the pain she caused, possessed or not.

On the other hand, Tabby would definitely hate to hear somebody explain why her sister-a sister she seemed to get along with even-needed to go to jail, and Polly's angry "Don't dive deeper into the issue" look further made her consider doing this option.

However, suddenly, Tabby added:

"That's not the only thing that worries me, though. Maggie came back home, yes, but shortly after she arrived, she started coughing and clutching her stomach."

 _Meanwhile, at the Royal Woods Prison..._

Maggie, shivering and trying to stay composed in her prison cell, coughed violently and clutched her stomach as she started breathing heavily, almost as if she was trying to not lose whatever air she had on her lungs.

"And what's worse is that her coughing and clutching just got worse as the police took her away. And worst of all..."

And then, Maggie coughed a bit more until she spat out blood on the floor, with it splashing the ground-of course-and part of her clothes.

"We have no idea what's going on with her."

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"W-What point are you trying to get across?" Lola growled, trying to put a tough facade.

"The point I'm trying to get, Blondie, is that no matter how scary you seem to think you are, there are people much scarier than you!" Lana formed a fist with her rock arm and got ready to throw a punch. "Like for example, a little girl with a freaking rock fist!"


	39. Returning News

**Last time, on Chains of Reality, Ronnie Anne reunited not only with Polly Pain and Tabby, but they also found out that the tests from yesterday was to add them to a special underground academy centered on helping students learn how to defend Royal Woods! Not only that, but Clyde got a call from Lisa, implying they were up to something!**

 **Again, that was basically it.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 39: The Interview of a Lifetime! Welcome Back Home, Dear Brother! Wait, Lola's Learned What Now?!**

* * *

 _Friday, the Loud house..._

Lincoln sat on the couch, listening to Clyde and Ronnie tell him about what they found out about the academy while he ate some chips. His belly was fairly big now, clearly housing a 5-month old baby in there. Apparently, Proto-Lily developed much, _much_ faster than the average baby.

Oh boy.

"And then Mr. Universe, the buff guy who's famous for beauty pageants I think, fell down from the skies and crash landed right in the middle of the stage!" Ronnie exclaimed, lifting her arms up in the air. "And he also carried with him a little girl with a weird sweater. She looked like a redheaded copycat of Diva-O, actually."

"A redhead Lola clone, huh?" Lincoln repeated, eating another chip as he thought about it. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"Say, Lincoln, how's the... Pregnancy deal doing?" Clyde nervously brought up, catching Lincoln's attention. "I mean, we haven't seen you in person in a while, and we would like to see the progress the little beast's doing."

"Hey, I may be pregnant with one of our mortal enemies, but she's still my daughter! You can't just call her a beast in my face!" Lincoln answered, trying to hold back his laughter. "Now freak of nature and abomination, I won't mind if you call her."

"Wow, you're such a good mother," Ronnie scoffed, only to soon grow confused as she tried to correct herself. "Or father... Have you been able to figure out what we're supposed to call you?"

"I think either mother or father is fine," Lincoln shook his head, then showed his large belly to the duo. "And here, this is how big my belly's gotten in 5 days."

"According to my mom's medicine books, that's the average size of a 5-month pregnant belly," Ronnie remarked as she and Clyde read a book she was holding. "That means that in the little be-I mean, freak of nature's development cycle, a month would equal a day. That means you're going to give birth in Sunday!"

"If she isn't born prematurely, that is," Clyde nonchalantly pointed out.

This, of course, earned him a slap in the face from Ronnie. "Shut up, Clyde, Lame-O has enough to worry about."

"Now, Ronnie, Clyde is bringing up a legitimate point, and seeing how Lisa is basically a massive shut-in at this point, there's no other smart people to point out that fact," Lincoln replied, before scratching his chin. "Then again, you do have a point in that I'm already quite stressed with the fact that I'm pregnant. Do you think the news media is going to bombard me with questions?"

"That's not really an issue unless your condition was somehow made known to the public," Clyde added, with Ronnie nodding in agreement as she put on a reassuring smile. "Have you told somebody other than your family about it?"

"No, in fact, I haven't even told my parents yet," Lincoln casually answered.

And just as he realized what that meant, somebody knocked the door, prompting him to shout "who is it?" in a medium tone. Not too quiet, not too loud.

"Um, hello? Is this the house of the pregnant boy, Lincoln Loud?" a female woman voice answered from outside the house. "Listen, I've been sent here to do an interview with you, and not even one of those big, overly elaborate ones, just a simple interview with a couple of questions and then I'll get out of your hair."

"Is that a paparazzi?! Don't let them in!" Clyde exclaimed in a panic.

"Nerd-O has a point! If you answer one of their questions, they'll just ask another one and another one with no end in sight!" Ronnie added, with Clyde nodding in agreement. "Tabby told me that's how they work, and I trust her word since apparently she's been dealing with one of them before!"

"Um, I'm less of a paparazzi, and more of a simple news reporter," the woman suddenly answered, knocking the door once more. "It's my job to let this information reach... A particular organization I'm working with. In fact, my boss made it quite clear I couldn't come back without doing you an interview. If I do... Well, let's just say I'm basically going to die."

Lincoln thought about it for a moment, then promptly answered, with a cheerful tone:

"Come in."

And just as Ronnie and Clyde were about to complain, Lincoln hung up his phone and the reporter, Catherine Butterfly, burst into the house, with her camera crew following her. With that done, she promptly sat next to the boy and made herself comfortable before turning to the camera.

"This is Catherine Butterfly, news reporter of the city of Royal Woods," Catherine greeted while Lincoln waved hello. "I'm here at the house of Lincoln Loud, the pregnant boy, who's allowed to share some words with us."

Then she leaned her microphone to Lincoln. "Alright, Lincoln, are you ready for the questions?"

"No," Lincoln answered with a smile. "Not at all."

 _Meanwhile, with Luna..._

The rockstar walked along the sidelines, taking a look around the scenery as she walked towards Mrs. Johnson's house. As she walked, she couldn't help but remember the things Luan told her back in the house, with one of them flashing on her mind right in that moment:

" _Luna, I really don't want to tell you this but... It may not be such a good idea to date Sam._ "

The rocker couldn't help but feel a bitter taste on her mouth when she remembered those words. And it only got bitter when she remembered what came next:

" _What... What makes you say that?_ "

" _Luna, don't think I'm taking her side or anything, but... Well, I promised Maggie that I would tell you about Sam before it was too later._ "

The musician felt... Conflicted. On the one hand, after everything Maggie did to not only Lucy and Luan, but their friends and even she herself-a long time ago, yeah, but still-Luna didn't really feel like Maggie was somebody she could trust. Heck, she probably wasn't somebody _Luan_ should trust!

On the other hand, she's never even attempted to see Sam in any other way other than what she seems like in school. She always thought she was just a simple cool, nice, easy-going person who loves music just as much as she does. And yet, this simple statement reminded her that there were people that knew her far better than she could say.

But even if that was the case, there's no way Maggie was one of those people, right?

"Luna?"

The rocker opened her eyes, and saw she was suddenly at the park, with two girls looking at her. The first one was none other than Tabby, who sat next to a fountain, and was apparently in the middle of playing her saxophone.

The other one was none other than Sam, who sat on a bench nearby.

"T-Tabby?" Luna nervously asked once she saw the young saxophone player, only to notice Sam nearby. "S-S-S-Sam?!"

"The one and only ultimate swagger, at your service!" Sam boasted, giving Luna a wink before turning back to Tabby. "But not right now, I'm here making sure Tabby's saxophone skills haven't gone rusty."

" _She winked at me!_ " Luna thought, blushing as red as a tomato, only to turn back to normal as she asked, "Wait, saxophone skills?"

"I used to play the saxophone back at a poetry club where Haiku and Giggles used to constantly visit. I think your sister Lucy also used to come there once in a while," Tabby explained as Luna walked to and sat next to her. "I haven't played it for quite a while since then. I did get to play a bit of it with Polly in Ronnie's garage, but not since then."

"Polly Pain?" Luna repeated, sounding perplexed.

"Her girlfriend, basically," Sam answered as she got up and went to the duo. And though Luna grew more nervous-and blushed harder-as Sam came closer, Tabby narrowed her eyes instead. "She was the drummer of their little band, and even outside of the poetry club, they were completely inseparable! You should've seen them before the incident, they looked so cute together!"

And then Tabby smacked Sam's foot with her own hissed, "Except we're not girlfriends! We're just friends! And as long as you try to force us together, we'll only remain as friends, and we'll never go beyond that!"

"Tabby, what the heck, Love?!" Luna exclaimed as she went to check up on Sam. "She was just teasing you! There was no need to hurt her!"

"Nah, don't mind her, Luna, she's just been incredibly grumpy lately for no reason whatsoever," Sam replied, shooting a glare at Tabby before turning back to Luna, with a happy smile. "Anyway, I think that's enough practice for today. How about we go back to show you our home?"

"I-I'd love that!" Luna chirped.

"B-But I'm not even finished practicing yet!" Tabby whined, stomping the ground.

However, her complaints fell on deaf ears as Luna and Sam started to walk back to Sam's home, with the saxophone player following them soon afterwards. And then Sam started to talk to Luna:

"Hey, wanna hear a secret? I'm the daughter of Mick Swagger."

Upon hearing that, Sam and Tabby stopped as Luna jumped up, and took a step back.

"Whoa, dude, n-no way!" Luna said, her shock soon turning into excitement as she finished, "Y-You're joking, aren't you?"

"Not at all!" Sam confirmed as the trio resumed their walking. "In fact, Tabby and I are both part of a line of Mick Swagger's kids!"

"Oh man, that's so cool!" Luna chirped, clinging to Sam's arm. "Can you tell me more about them?"

"Well, the first one in the line of Swagger children is our older brother, Hugh!" Sam chirped with a shrug. "He left to go with dad to to England a long time ago, but he's finally coming back after all these years! In fact, he's coming back today! And it's all thanks to yours truly."

"Huh, that's good to know," Luna remarked, gaining a smile of relief. "I can't even imagine how much you must've missed him. It's nice when family reunite after a long time apart, isn't it?"

"Not if that family is taken away from you mere moments after you've met them again," Tabby bitterly answered, rolling her eyes.

"Ignore her, she's just worrying about the black sheep of the family," Sam said, snapping her fingers to catch Luna's attention. "Luckily, I'm not talking about her next! Instead, the next one of the swagger kids is Becky, basically the substitute mother when none of the other mothers can do their jobs properly."

"I think Lori has mentioned Becky a couple times before," Luna scratched her chin in wonder. "She's red-haired and apparently has an attraction to very young boys, or guys who look like very young boys."

"Yeah, that's pretty much her," Tabby casually confirmed.

"Wait, she's a redhead, you're blonde with blue highlights, and Tabby's dark-haired with purple highlights," Luna pointed out, with the sisters giving her a "so?" look as she added, "I mean, what's up with those hair colors?"

"There's this thing called hair dye, Luna, ever heard of it?" Sam quipped.

"And dad has a really bad habit of marrying women, having one kid with them, divorcing them, and then repeating the process with another woman," Tabby bitterly added, rolling her eyes as she added, "And sometimes, he even outright skipped the marriage."

"But that doesn't matter, what matters is that the very next one, and the one kid smacked right in the middle, is none other than me, Sam Swagger!" the musician boasted, with Luna squealing like a fan girl soon after. "And what can I say? I'm basically the best of the bunch; The most athletic, the most intelligent, and so on and so forth!"

"She's just boasting to feed her own ego," Tabby quipped. "How about you shut up and go to the next kid?"

"Oh right, the final one in the line is Tabby," Sam nonchalantly finished. "She's usually much more cheerful and optimistic, but she's gotten much more bitter and upset than usual for some unknown reason."

Tabby, however, was quick to point something out. "Um, aren't you forgetting about somebody?"

Sam hummed for a little moment, before conclusively answering:

"Nope!"

And so, the blonde and brunette musicians started to talk with each other as they continued to walk to Sam's home, and Tabby stopped right on her tracks, utterly shocked at Sam's answer. Don't worry, though, her shock was soon replaced with anger as she continued to walk back home, her eyes growing more narrow as her anger started surging through her body...

 _Back at the Loud house..._

Lincoln continued to eat his chips while Catherine started to throw some questions at his direction.

"Alright, Lincoln, let's start with something simple so you don't feel overwhelmed," the reporter said, with Lincoln nodding in return. "How did it feel to find out that you were pregnant? Being a boy, it certainly must've taken you by surprise, right?"

"Well, I did get pregnant through a rather unorthodox mean: I drank some lavender liquid," Lincoln answered, shrugging and shaking his head. "I guess you could say I should've checked if the drink was a guy or a girl before I drank it."

Catherine giggled for a moment. "Okay, so, were you shocked or not?"

"Oh yeah, I was definitely shocked when Lisa-rather nonchalantly I might add-told me the news," Lincoln folded his arms. "I mean, I'm a guy, and I don't even have a womb. So I was simply dumbfounded when Lisa not only told me about my pregnancy, but showed us proof that no, she wasn't joking about it."

"Huh, she did some research about it then?" Catherine giggled. "Well, how have these five days of pregnancy been for you, Lincoln? Have you gone out anywhere, or have you remained here, in your humble abode?"

"Well, for obvious reasons, I was suggested to stay here until I gave birth to the little creature inside me," the boy sighed. "I managed to go out for the first two days, but once my belly started to grow noticeably bigger, I've had to stay here at home. At least Ronnie and Clyde come to visit every so often, and I do have my other sisters here taking care of me."

Then, Catherine casually asked, "Have you wondered how you're even going to be able to give birth to your baby?"

Lincoln opened his mouth, and suddenly paused as he thought about it. And if his smile slowly turning into a worried frown was any indication, whatever he was thinking about, it wasn't pleasant at all.

Luckily, he managed to focus his attention on something else: Lola, who was just going downstairs in that exact moment.

"Hi Lola, good to see you again!" Lincoln blurted, catching Lola's attention and making the cameramen focus on her. "Look, there's a camera crew doing an interview with me, perhaps you'd like for them to interview you while I think up an answer?"

"Sorry Lincoln, as much as I would love to make sure my "interview" skills haven't gone rusty, I'm kinda busy right now," the diva answered without hesitation.

And as Lincoln's eyes grew wide in disbelief, Lola walked to the door, and just as she left, she simply explained:

"I have to go to Carol's house. There's something we need to talk about."

 _Mrs. Johnson's House, Dining Room..._

Luna sat alongside Mrs. Johnson, Tabby, Sam, and Becky, on the dinner table, where she looked at the food she had been served. However, she was looking at the food with absolute delight, almost as if she was overjoyed by the simple food in front of her. And seeing how she was having dinner with the family of her biggest idol, she had a reason to look like that.

"Luna?"

But the rocker didn't respond. Clearly, she was way too overjoyed at the moment.

"Luna?"

Same response.

"Luna?!"

Finally, Luna actually returned to reality to see Mrs. Johnson and Tabby looking at her with worry. Becky and Sam were a bit too focused on their food to pay attention.

"Mrs. Loud, is something the matter?" Agnes inquired, fear and worry evident in her tone. "You've been smiling at the food for five minutes!"

"Oh, s-sorry, Mrs. Johnson! I'm just so happy to be here," Luna answered, clasping her hands. "I mean, I'm in the house of one of my biggest idol's wives, eating dinner with his family! Anybody would be completely overwhelmed by that fact!"

"Well, at least you're not overly shouting or praising us or dad like we were some sort of divine beings," Becky scoffed, rolling her eyes. "If that had been case, nobody would've come out of here without a headache."

Luna looked around the table, and once she saw the slightly down atmosphere, she couldn't help but ask, "I'm sorry, but am I doing something wrong or-"

"No, Luna, please don't misunderstand, it's nothing related to you at all," Mrs. Johnson stated. "It's just that we're all tired of people acting like that. We have a bad habit of encountering people like that. We usually don't have dinner with them, though."

"Well, you got nothing to worry about," Luna reassured with a smile. "I'm not going to be like one of those people!"

Becky and Tabby just hummed "mhm" in an unimpressed manner, while Sam just seemed to outright ignore the statement. Mrs. Johnson was nice enough to nod in approval, though.

And so, to try and break the ice, Luna asked, "Huh, so, Mick Swagger fathered you three?"

Upon hearing that, Sam only managed to nod once before Becky and Tabby burst into laughter, with Mrs. Johnson soon joining in the laughing fit.

"D-Did I accidentally say something funny?" the visitor rocker asked as she looked at the family.

"Yeah, you put "fathered" and dad in the same sentence!" Becky answered, before slamming her fist on the table again, this time out of anger. "Dad's been hands-off about this whole family ever since the first one of us came out! In fact, the most he ever did to "father" any of us was to teach us how to play music."

"A-A-And we all managed to learn how to play instruments thanks to him!" Sam added, getting everybody's attention. "Tabby learned how to play the saxophone, I learned how to play the guitar, you learned how to play the violin as well!"

"I did it in order to learn the specific violin tune that would drive you to sleep," Becky pointed out, only to take out her violin. Her normal violin, to be exact. "In fact, I think I just remembered it! Let's give it a shot, shall we?"

Sam tried to stop Becky, but it was too late, the redheaded young woman played a classical tune that soon made Sam grow sleepy, and fall asleep on the floor literally afterwards, prompting her to stop. Everybody else was unaffected, though.

"Hey, I think I can recognize that little tune," Luna remarked, gaining a smile. "It was made by Charles Auguste de Bériot, right?"

"I guess so, dad never really said who made the tune, he just taught it to me," Becky put down her violin. "Anyway, thanks for joining us for dinner... Luna, right?"

"Yeah, that's my name," the rocker answered with a nod. "And also, I think there was something Sam said while we were coming here. She said something about asking me to come with you for something. I can't remember what, though-"

Suddenly, Sam woke up and sprung up before shouting, "Luna! Wanna come with us to meet Hugh at the airport?!"

A short silence passed, and several weird looks were thrown at Sam.

"I just remembered that Hugh's coming back to Royal Woods today, and seeing how you were coming to visit us, I thought you could also come with us to give him a warm welcoming back home," the blonde rocker grabbed Luna's hand and put on puppy dog eyes. "It could be your first, and maybe only, chance to meet the remaining Swagger kid! You have to say yes, please!"

Luna blushed like a tomato and glanced between Sam's hands gently touching hers, and the large puppy dog eyes. To anybody else, the hand-holding and puppy eyes would look either really cute, or kinda funny, or even both. But to Luna, she saw them with absolute joy and delight.

"Oh come on, Sam, don't start playing dirty during dinner," Tabby scolded, earning an angry look from her older sister. "I'm sure Luna has other important things to-"

"I'd love to come with you!" Luna chirped with joy.

Tabby threw her arms up in the air. "Nevermind, she's coming along!"

"Are you sure you want to do this, Mrs. Loud?" Mrs. Johnson inquired as Luna and Sam separated. "I mean, like Tabby said, you probably have a lot to do either at hobby or back at home, right?"

"Actually, Luan agreed to cover for me while I went here to see if what she told me was true," the rocker casually answered, earning a look from Sam. A displeased look at that. "She told me that Maggie told her to tell me that I shouldn't date Sam 'cause it would be a bad idea, so I wanted to see if that was true or not."

Sam growled in annoyance. "Your sister's just being lied to, nothing Maggie ever says is true. Just ignore it and focus on your food, we'll go meet Hugh in a couple hours."

"Alright."

And so, everybody continued to eat, though Luna did take the chance to look around: Tabby just ate her food, looking clearly annoyed, and Sam pretty much did the same. Becky just ate without a care in the world, and Mrs. Johnson ate with a tired and aggravated look to her face.

Needless to say, this negative atmosphere certainly unnerved the musician.

Worried her, even.

 _Meanwhile, at Carol's backyard..._

Lola entered the backyard to see Lana and Carol, the latter training the former as she formed a replacement arm with rock-again-and managed to pull a couple of hits before it dissipated into nothing.

"Did you see that, Carol?!" Lana exclaimed in excitement. "I actually threw several punches before it crumbled apart."

"Yeah, good work, Lana," Carol replied with a nod. "Now try and pull it off again."

The sight slightly annoyed the diva. First, Lana was clearly disturbed by the revelation Carol was basically her niece, and now, she was perfectly happy again? What? But that was of no concern to the pageant princess right now.

So she walked forward and interrupted the duo's training, with Lana being the first to notice her twin approaching.

"Lola..." Lana muttered in disgust.

"Do you mind if I speak with Carol for a moment?" Lola asked, putting her hand on her hip as her twin and the teenager turned to her. "There's something I need to discuss with her."

"Yes, I actually do mind," Lana snapped, walking to Lola as the diva flinched in shock. "We're in the middle of some training, which includes helping me learn how to use my rock-arm-thing correctly and without it collapsing moments later, so if you have something to talk about with her, then wait your turn!"

"Lans, why are you acting like this?" Lola tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. "You should know that I prefer that when people talk to me, they don't do it in a rude manner. After all, you do know how you don't want to make me angry, right?"

"Lola, I'm not known as the Queen of Risks for nothing," Lana answered, narrowing her eyes as she threw a furious glare at Lola's direction, which actually seemed to outright scare her. "And in case you've forgotten, not only am I older than you by two minutes, but we got seven older siblings, who are so much worse than you when you're angry!"

And as Lana continued scolding Lola, Carol couldn't help but feel like something was going to happen, so she opened a portal next to her just in case.

"You think you're scary when you're angry!? Lori can twist people into living pretzels, Leni is hiding so much stuff that it's unnerving, Luna is capable of going so loud she'd drive a deaf person even more deaf, Luan is Luan, Lynn can crack skulls open with one punch, Lincoln is a complete mystery, Lucy is even more silent than a corpse, and I have an entire zoo of dangerous and venomous reptiles on my side of our room!"

"Wait, how do you know some of them are also venomous?" Lola pointed out.

Without hesitation, Lana showed the bite marks on her neck. "Because I've been bit by some of them so many times, I've basically grown immune to their venom!"

"W-What point are you trying to get across?" Lola growled, trying to put a tough facade.

"The point I'm trying to get, Blondie, is that no matter how scary you seem to think you are, there are people much scarier than you!" Lana formed a fist with her rock arm and got ready to throw a punch. "Like for example, a little girl with a freaking rock fist!"

Just as she threw the punch-and Lola tried to defend herself-a portal opened right in the middle and Lana's punch went through it. And when the duo turned to look at Carol, they saw Lana's fist punching her cheek. Carol herself didn't really react as the rock fist soon dissipated into nothingness.

"Oh my goodness, Carol!" Lana exclaimed as she ran to the teenager, who closed her portals afterwards. "Are you okay?! I'm so sorry, I-"

"No, I understand why you did it, Lola does seem to be quite exasperating to deal with," Carol answered before walking. "So, how about we do this: While you continue perfecting your skill with the technique, so it doesn't crumble after a single attack, I'll go see what Lola wants from me, okay?"

Lana glanced between Lola, then Carol, and begrudgingly obliged as Lola and Carol went back inside. Once there, however, it only took until they reached the living room before Lola stated what she wanted:

"I want you to teach me how to create a replacement arm."

With that said, Carol stopped on her tracks and turned around to see Lola, clutching her pageant dress and trying to hold back tears, as she continued:

"It's not fair that Lana gets to learn how to create something cool to replace her lost arm, while I remain with... Nothing. I mean, we both lost our arms, so we should both get something to replace them. Why does she get a replacement and not me?"

"Well, I'm going to tell you a little secret: The sort of magic, energy, or whatever you want to call it, that Lana's using isn't something you're really supposed to learn just yet," Carol explained, brushing Lola's hair in an attempt to cheer her up. "I'm not sure how she found out about it, but I wouldn't be training her if her body wasn't prepared for it. If it wasn't, she shouldn't have been able to create the technique in the first place."

Lola sniffed and looked away.

"So, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't think you're neither mentally or physically capable of replicating what your sister can do, so, just don't focus about it, okay? You've been doing a pretty good job at that so far, so I don't see why you can't do it. Understood?"

Hiding her tears from the young woman's sight, Lola meekly answered:

"Y-Yes."

"Good! I'm glad we could reach an agreement!" Carol chirped as she guided Lola to the door. "Now please go, I need to train Lana since I have something important to do at Lori and Leni's cabin tomorrow."

Lola was taken outside, and just as she pondered what Carol meant about Lori and Leni's cabin, Carol loudly closed the door behind her. And just as she wiped off her tears and tried to compose herself, a familiar voice spoke:

"Do you need help?"

The diva flinched, and quickly scanned her surroundings to find the source of the voice, only to grow upset when she saw who it was.

Lindsey Sweetwater, playing with her yo-yo and with a stern look on her face.

 _Meanwhile, at the Royal Woods airport..._

Luna was walking alongside Mrs. Johnson, her daughter, Sam, Tabby, and Maggie's mother as they went to wait for Hugh's plane to land and for him to arrive. Naturally, no words could express the excitement the musician felt at that moment.

" _Hehe, if I had told anybody that I would be hanging out with Mick Swagger's family today, they'd probably have said that I'm going off the rails on a crazy train,_ " Luna thought, her smile soon turning worried when she realized something. " _Huh, that's the first song reference I've done in a while. Am I getting rusty? Nah, don't waste your thoughts on that, Luna, focus on the important! You're with Mick Swagger's family today!_ "

To try and calm herself down, the musician turned to look at how the women were doing.

"Hey, where's DiMartino?" Maggie's mom inquired, taking a look around. "I thought she'd be here to see Hugh's return as well."

"She figured that it would be better if she stayed back home and waited for Hugh to come to her," Mrs. Johnson explained with a shrug. "After all, this is the first time she'll see him in years, and seeing how emotional she can be, I wouldn't be surprised if she were unable to say anything at best, or turn into a blabbering, crying mess at worst when she saw him."

"Poor DiMartino, first she loses a daughter, and now she can't even see her own son without collapsing emotionally," Maggie's mother looked at the ground. "I wish there was something we could do to help her."

Mrs. Johnson, noticing this, put a hand on her shoulder and said, "There is: After Hugh greets everybody, we'll tell him to go visit DiMartino, got it?"

Maggie's mother smiled and nodded in relief, and Luna promptly turned to look at how the kids were doing. Simply put, Sam was the only one to be extremely excited to be there.

"I assure you, this is going to be an epic family reunion!" Sam exclaimed, lifting her arms up high in joy. "Sure, Maggie isn't here, but who cares about her anyway?"

"Hugh definitely did, he gave her his sweater and all, and you know how much he likes his sweaters," Becky pointed out, bringing Sam's excitement down a notch. "And besides, I would be a bit more careful with my choice of words, you know how Tabby likes her too."

"Ah please, I'm sure she doesn't her not coming with us," Sam scoffed before patting her youngest sister's back. "Right, Tabby?"

Suddenly, with a look of pure, unadulterated fury, Tabby hissed:

"Go and rot in hell before we lose another important family member for your fault!"

Naturally, Sam's first instinct was to jump into Becky's arms in fear.

"T-That's not how you should talk to your older sister, much less the Ultimate Swagger!" Sam scolded, only to turn to her older sister. "T-Tell her, Becky!"

The redhead nonchalantly dropped the blonde. "I ain't taking your side, sis."

" _His family's a whole lot more messed up than I thought, though_ ," Luna remarked, only to shake it off. " _Then again, missing such a man like Mick Swagger would probably do that to any family._ "

Eventually, the whole gang arrived at the place where Hugh would supposedly arrive, and to Luna and Tabby's shock, Bobby and Ronnie Anne were also there, sitting at the chairs. So of course, they sat close to them.

"Yo, dude, It's so unexpected to see you here today!" Luna said, catching Bobby's attention.

"I could say the same thing about you," Bobby replied with a smile. "I'm here waiting for a special someone, what about you?"

"Well, I don't want to boast or anything, but I was invited by Mick Swagger's family-well, one of his daughters-to come and meet up with his son, who's coming back after who knows how long!" Luna chirped, placing her arms behind her head. "And of course, how could I say no to such an offer?!"

Meanwhile, Tabby and Ronnie's conversation was going on, with Ronnie playing a video game as Tabby heard her speak:

"So, Bobby found out that his former lover was coming back to Royal Woods, so of course, he simply had to be here in order to meet him."

"Okay, but why are you here?" Tabby inquired, raising an eyebrow. "Just 'cause your brother needs to come see his lover return doesn't mean you have to come with him."

"Nah, I wanted to come, I didn't have anything to do today anyway," Ronnie shrugged. "And besides, this is the first time I can meet this lover in person!"

And soon after that, a familiar person arrived that made everybody get up and watch him walk towards them. This person, of course, was none other than Hugh.

And once she got a closer look at him, Luna walked forward and chirped:

"Hey, you were Lincoln's tutor! And you're Mick Swagger's son too, huh? Oh man, you don't know how happy I am to see you again!"

Hugh, however, despite showing a caring smile, his answer was rather blunt:

"I wish I could say the same thing to you."

And as the man walked past her, a sudden memory flashed in Luna's head: She was much younger, and the person walking past her wasn't Hugh, but Mick Swagger himself, who looked disappointed as a younger Sam tried to stop him from leaving. The memory, however, ended right then and there, letting Luna turn back to see Hugh approaching his family.

" _What... Was that all about?_ " Luna pondered in confusion, only to shake it off. " _Whatever, I don't need to think about that right now. I've moved past Maggie, so all I gotta do now is focus on the present!_ "

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

Lola narrowed her eyes. "What if I don't accept?"

"Well, two things could happen," Lindsey closed her eyes as her yo-yo play became slower. "At best, you'd have to work hard to convince your twin to hang out with you again. And at worst..."

Lindsey stopped and grabbed her yo-yo and stated, with a blunt, unforgiving look:

"You'll lose your sister forever."


	40. Get the Message Across

**I know, I know, "You posted a chapter yesterday, why post another one?" Simply put, I got that much content ready. But don't worry, I'm fairly certain that with how the story's going on from here, I'll most likely take my time in order to try and deliver the stuff I've been building up for quite a while now. 'Cause we're close to hitting 20 chapters since the Proto-Lily arc has begun, and we're not even halfway there XD**

 **And before any of you ask, yes, It's highly likely that I will legitimately go back to a once-in-a-week schedule, 'cause with the way things are going, I doubt I'll have enough time to write so much I'll need to update twice.**

 **Anyway, let's move on.**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lincoln got an interview about his status as a pregnant boy, while Lola went to try gain some form to replace her arm, only to be told by Carol that she wasn't ready to learn anything about that yet. However, Lindsey suddenly appear, asking if she needed help.**

 **In other news, Luna got to spent some time with Mick Swagger's family, even managing to meet his only son, Hugh. However, the gloomy atmosphere showed by most of them, couple with, has clouded her mind with doubts concerning her favorite idol.**

 **If you need a hint, it's Mick Swagger.**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 40: A Fight to get the Message Across, Lynn Versus Carol! Stop Being Stubborn and Face Yourself, Lola!**

* * *

 _Saturday, at Lori and Leni's cabin's living room..._

Lori and Lynn were in the middle of playing a fitness game on a game console, each wearing leg and arm warmers alongside their normal clothes.

They repeated the poses shown at the screen, with Lori taking her time doing so, while Lynn repeated them as fast and efficiently as she could.

Naturally, when it came to scoring, Lori was doing decent, while Lynn was at the bottom of the barrel.

"Ugh, this game's scoring system is broken!" Lynn whined as she suddenly stopped to catch her breath, prompting Lori... To continue playing and not pause the game at all. "I'm doing the poses they show and-you didn't even pause the game, did you?!"

"You have to repeat the poses when they appear in the similarly shaped outline, not before or after," Lori casually explained. "And you wouldn't need to take a rest if you weren't going so fast and so hard about it."

"But what if the poses suddenly start speeding up?!" Lynn pointed out, prompting Lori to pause the game this time. "I've seen videos of this game, where the poses slowly speed up until they're crazy fast!"

"That's what the difficulty setting's for, and we're currently on "Easy" for a reason," Lori folded her arms and frowned. "You need to learn to take your time when it comes to this stuff, not jump in and go 100% right away."

Lynn formed a pair of fists and stomped the ground. "But when I do that during the games, we always wind up winning! You know, when chance isn't there to ruin it, but point is, going 100% right away helps the team win!"

Lori shook her head. "That would imply that everybody else had taken a part in earning that victory, but the way you speak makes it seem like the victory's yours and yours alone. That doesn't really count as a team victory."

"Who cares?!" Lynn snapped, folding her arms. "As long as we win, it doesn't matter, right?"

"Ugh, even after all this time, that "win at all costs" mentality of yours is still engraved on your mind, isn't it?" Lori sighed in frustration, and promptly walked away as she said, "I have to talk with Leni, be right back."

Once she was out of sight, Lynn took the chance to switch the game to single player and continue playing from there.

Meanwhile, Lori walked to Leni's side as she was cooking something for lunch, and kissed her cheek.

"Hi Lori," Leni casually greeted with a motherly tone. "Do you want to switch right now?"

"Please do, anything to stay away from Lynn for at least a half hour," Lori pleaded, clasping her hands.

The duo switched places, and Lori continued to cook Leni's food while the fashionista asked, "Is something going on with Lynn?"

"Well, to make a long story short, we played for a bit, but I soon discovered that her stupid "win at all costs" mentality is still engraved in her mind," Lori growled, only to grow confused once she took a look at the pot. "Leni, what were you cooking?"

"Don't worry, I'm not making anything meat-based, it's just some simple fish with rice," Leni reassured, only to scratch her chin in wonder, "Wait, does fish count as meat?"

"No, it doesn't, and I'm grateful for that," Lori sighed. "Anyway, as I was saying, Lynn's stupid "victory first" mentality is still stuck in her brain and it's driving me nuts how stubborn she can be. I mean, she's spent almost a week with us, and there's no sign of that mentality going away!"

"Removing certain beliefs takes time and effort, you can't just expect Lynn to quit being such a victory monger after trying for almost a week," Leni pointed out.

And then, she got a devious idea. "Although, if you're feeling that frustrated, there's always a certain someone we could call for help..."

Lori flinched and retorted, "Leni, I know what you may be thinking, but there's no way we're letting " _her_ " and Lynn meet face-to-face again! Last time they did, she almost wound up killing Lynn!"

Leni rolled her eyes, which suddenly lit up light blue, "To be fair, Lynn pretty much had it coming."

"Other me, leave Leni alone this instant!" Lori hissed. "And if you're the one suggesting that we call Carol to come here-"

"Relax, this is legitimately my own idea," Leni said as her eyes turned back to normal. "Listen, we both know how strong Carol is, right? Even if she only uses her portal powers, she's simply way too far beyond Lynn's own capabilities."

Lori looked at the ground in contemplation. Mostly 'cause Leni's words actually made sense: Lynn most likely didn't even compare to Carol at this point. After all, she hasn't even been trained to fight yet.

"Wait a minute, Lynn's not even trained for fighting," Lori pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "Is it really fair to put her up against a girl we've been training since she was a little girl?"

"This isn't about the fight being fair, Lori, this is about making Lynn realize that not only "victory at all costs" is a horrible mentality, but that there are some fights that simply can't be won," Leni replied, narrowing her eyes as well. "Now, while you continue making lunch, I'll call-"

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and of course, Leni went to answer the door. And who was the person standing outside?

None other than Carol, of course!

"Oh hey, Lori and I were just talking about you!" Leni chirped as the young woman walked inside. "You know you're always welcomed, but you could've-"

Without pulling any punches, Carol stated:

"I need to talk with Lynn."

Meanwhile, with Lola...

The crippled diva walked at the sidelines as she headed to some place to meet up with Lindsey. As she walked, she couldn't help but remember how their conversation went, and why she was heading there in the first place:

 _Lola's flashback..._

"W-What do you mean if I need help?" Lola asked, trying to keep up her unreachable diva princess attitude.

Lindsey didn't buy it, though.

"Exactly what I said: You look like you need some help, and I think I may be able to help you to an extent," the redhead bluntly said, swinging her yo-yo up and down. "I've heard that your sister has been spending less and less time with you, and has spent more time with a certain "Carol Pingrey," is that true?"

The pageant princess took a step back in disbelief. "H-How did you-?"

"Dad has connections," Lindsey casually replied. "Listen, there's a reason why Lana has ditched you for that girl, and I can teach you how to get her trust back. However, I'm giving you a choice; you can accept, or you can just go away."

Lola narrowed her eyes. "What if I don't accept?"

"Well, two things could happen," Lindsey closed her eyes as her yo-yo play became slower. "At best, you'd have to work hard to convince your twin to hang out with you again. And at worst..."

Lindsey stopped and grabbed her yo-yo and stated, with a blunt, unforgiving look:

"You'll lose your sister forever."

 _Back at the present..._

" _I could've just said no and work hard to get Lana back on my side. And I could've just told Lindsey that I needed time to think about it_ ," Lola thought, taking a deep breath. " _So why did I agree to get help from that annoying little brat? She's been a pain in my butt up until now!_ "

Just as she thought about it, however, she reached her destination: Mr. Universe's house.

Or more accurately, Mr. Universe's _mansion_. A mansion with golden doors, a large yard that seemed more fitting for a park, and several trees decorated with jewelry and stuff.

Clearly, his yard was kinda extravagant.

" _She wasn't kidding when she said Mr. Universe's house was nothing like what I imagined_ ," Lola thought in sheer disbelief before reaching for the doorbell. " _But oh well, there's no coming back, I might as well go forward_."

The doorbell was rang, and a speaker… Well, spoke, with a familiar voice:

" _I'm here, as a voice greeting the visitors_!"

" _He really did grab his voice to welcome guests_!" Lola composed herself. "Um, I'm Lola Loud. I came here by request of Lindsey Sweetwater."

Mere moments later, the gates opened up, and with both anticipation, worry, and anxiety building up inside her, Lola took a deep breath and walked forward into the mansion. And much to her shock, the first person she saw once she entered wasn't Mr. Universe or Lindsey, but Chandler, dressed as a butler of sorts.

"Huh, Mr. Universe even has some people working for him," Lola nonchalantly remarked, earning a look from the boy. "I'd expect him to get a woman, though, and not a boy."

"I'm just working to gain some money for my family," Chandler responded as he adjusted his bow tie. "And besides, I'm more like Lindsey's butler rather than Mr. Universe's."

Lola burst out laughing. "You're the butler of a little brat!"

"I can say she's a much better master than you could ever be, that's for sure," Chandler scoffed with a smug smile. "But anyway, can I help you with something?"

Lola stopped her laughter. "I'm here to talk with Lindsey, we agreed to talk about something important at 11:40 am."

Chandler looked away, almost as if he felt uncomfortable about the girl's name being mentioned. However, he did take Lola to see Lindsey at the second floor of the mansion, and thankfully-for Lola at least-the girl's appearance had changed a little.

Rather than looking like a redheaded recolor of Lola, Lindsey's hair was now tied up in one long braided ponytail, which was resting on her right shoulder. She was wearing a light blue shirt with a wavvy pattern, dark blue jeans and shoes, and oddly enough, a navy blue skirt.

And of course, she was wearing the sweater Maggie gave her on top of her shirt.

"I, uh, like your new look," Lola awkwardly remarked, earning a stern look from the redhead. "And speaking of looks, about what we were going to talk about-"

"I remember, you wanted to discuss first and foremost why did I decide to become a red-haired copycat of yours," Lindsey growled as she closed her eyes.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Lola put her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "We've been pageant rivals for over a year now. Long enough for you to grow to hate me, just as I have grown to hate you. So why, just why, would you want to look like me?"

Lindsey took a deep breath, and shook her head in disappointment.

"You just don't get it? Don't you?"

Naturally, Lola was confused at this statement.

"What are you talking about? What is there for me to get?"

And so, Lindsey snapped:

"I only decided to look like you post-plastic surgery, to give you a mirror image of what you had become!"

 _Meanwhile, with Carol and Lynn..._

The duo sat on the bed of the bedroom that used to belong to Carol, but now belonged to Lynn since her kidnapping into living with Lori and Leni. And while Carol took a look around, her stern glare remaining frozen on her face, Lynn clutched her chest as she tried her hardest to calm down.

" _Okay, Lynn, you may have left a horrible first impression last time you met, but certainly, you can start over again, right? Just, try to be friendly, don't tick her off and make sure not to bring up... That..._ " Lynn thought before turning to Carol. "So, he-!"

"Before you say anything, I want to make it clear I'm still pissed about the whole intervention fiasco," Carol sternly clarified without even looking at the jock. "So if I were you, I wouldn't try to do some friendly chit-chat like it never happened."

The athlete turned to the ground and took several deep breaths as she clutched her chest. It wasn't so much the fact that Carol spoke out of nowhere that scared her, but the fact she was _this_ close to igniting Carol's fury once more.

"I'm sorry that I made you freak out like that, I just wanted to get the point across so you wouldn't get the wrong idea," Carol sighed. "I mean, it's already bad enough that Lori didn't even bother to give you a new room and just "remodeled" the one I used to have, but to have you talk as if the intervention never happened... It makes it feel like it was pointless."

Lynn managed to calm down enough to put her arms behind her head and say, "See? That's why I didn't want to do it: In the end, it was pretty pointless. But don't worry, I can see why you got so angry, to go through so much trouble only for it to-"

"I blew up in anger 'cause I couldn't take being impotent anymore!" Carol snapped, slamming her fists on her former bed. "Even before the stupid intervention started, I could already feel like no matter what I did, all I could do was hope for the best, only for the worst to happen instead."

The teenager sighed and looked at the ground with a forlorn look, with Lynn quickly growing sympathetic to her plight. However, once she tried to put a hand on Carol's shoulder, the teenager grabbed her arm out of nowhere and held it tightly.

"However, once that was done, I got more than enough time to think about what I did wrong," Carol continued as Lynn tried to free herself from her grasp. "In the case of Polly, I could've been a bit less direct, but in general, she could've gone through the intervention just fine. But in your case..."

Then she turned to the athlete, with a stern tone, stated:

"I took the wrong approach all along."

Next thing Lynn knew, she was thrown straight to the backyard, where there was now an audience stand with Lori, Leni, Lucy, Lana, Polly, Margo, and for some reason a transparent Proto-Lynn, sitting on it and watching from the sidelines as Carol promptly arrived.

"Hey, what's the deal with you?!" Lynn complained as she got up and dusted herself. "Did you really-"

"I know your type now: You prefer to speak with actions rather than words," Carol cracked her knuckles. "So, if I can't get you to admit your problems by words, I'll get you to admit them by force!"

Lynn turned to the audience stands and raised a concerned eyebrow.

"In case you're wondering, they're here to watch you admit your problems," the young woman explained. "I don't want to be the only to hear them, everybody who you have hurt with your insistence on saying nothing's wrong, will get to hear it too."

Seeing there was no way for her to leave without dishing out-or, more likely, take-a beating, Lynn stretched a little and then put on a battle stance before stating:

"Fine then. Give me your best shot. But you'll soon find I'm a tough one to take down!"

 _Meanwhile, back with Lola and Lindsey..._

Lola tilted her head in complete confusion at Lindsey's revelation. Her post-surgery look was to make her see a mirror image of what she's become? What was that even supposed to mean?

"I'm sorry, I don't think I follow," Lola blurted.

"For crying out loud, Lola, have you seriously seen no similarities?!" Lindsey looked away and formed a pair of fists as she somberly recapped, "I mean, think about it: The first thing I did post-surgery was come to your backyard and flaunt about it! I organized an entirely fake beauty pageant to get back at you, and I even summoned a demon to try and kill you when the pageant failed! Yes, the last two parts were done with the help of your sister, but-"

"My sister? Which one of them?" Lola casually asked. "I'm willing to bet it's Lucy, since this happened before the Vine incident, but she doesn't care about beauty-"

"The stupid one!" Lindsey snapped, stomping the ground. "I got help from your dumbest sister!"

" _Leni helped Lindsey do all that stuff?_ " Lola thought, with the simple idea sounding utterly ridiculous. And yet, she couldn't help but wonder. " _But, Leni's a total sweetheart! She wouldn't do something like that... But, if that's the case, why do I get the feeling she's getting the truth?_ "

"Anyway, my point is..." Lindsey tighly gripped her skirt and asked, "Why?"

Lola flinched when she saw Lindsey cry. "Why do you do so many horrible things when you have nothing to gain from it?"

"Well, my family does need the money, and most beauty pageants offer-"

"This isn't just about the beauty pageants!" the redhead snapped, causing Lola to take a step back. "Do you think I would've mentioned the horrible things you've done just to cover beauty pageants?! I'm talking about your entire life! All the lies you've said, all the bones you've broken, all the people you've screwed over just to get what you want! And for what?! For some stupid reward you think you're entitled to get!"

The one-armed diva suddenly grew worried. Terrified even. "H-How much do you know?"

"Enough to sue you and make sure you spend the rest of your life in a prison cell!" Lindsey answered with absolute rage... Only to suddenly turn into heartbroken sorrow. "But... Even if I do that... I won't get the answer I'm seeking for."

"W-What's that answer?" was all Lola could utter.

Then, shedding tears of horror, Lindsey meekly asked:

"What convinced you to act like such a horrible human being?!"

To hear such a thought-provoking question turned Lola utterly speechless. Mostly 'cause that was basically something she had never heard before: People would either justify her behavior, saying she was way too young or blaming her parents-which could be true to an extent-or stay quiet in order to not inquire her wrath.

Now, not only did somebody actually, finally asked that question, but it came far too late. It would've worked earlier when the whole prototype sister madness wasn't happening, but now that it was... She could only think whether she could even answer the question or not...

"Oh, vermin and their melodrama, it's always the same: Funny at first, but it gets boring after a while."

Upon hearing someone sneer that, the duo turned around to see none other than Proto-Lola, arms folded while sporting a smug smirk.

"Proto Lola!" Lindsey and Lola exclaimed, in unison and shock.

"It's good to see both of you again," the proto-diva said before turning to Lindsey for a brief moment. "One less than the other."

The redhead flinched.

"Lindsey, you've left Lynn severely frustrated with your decision to leave our dimension," the prototype scolded. "Now that she has no more toys to play with, Lily's disappearance has turned her into quite the grumpy jerk. Not that she wasn't one to begin with, but now, it's even harder to deal with."

"What are you even doing here, other me?!" Lola hissed, shooting a glare at her counterpart's direction. "Lana and I sealed both you and her counterpart, remember!"

"Silly Jophiel, the seal may've brought us back to that dimension for a moment, but we can always return, provided our little helpers and our older sisters give us permission in the first place," Proto-Lola sighed. "But anyway, I came here to make a deal with you, my dear: Join my side, and I'll help you earn Lana's trust again. I'll make sure she forgets about Carol Pingrey, and returns to being your trustworthy twin, forever."

And with a smug, condescending grin, she chuckled:

"After all, that's _precisely_ what you want, isn't it?"

Lindsey didn't hesitate to take out an earpiece, which she put on before saying, "Greg, do you hear me?! We got an intruder, I need Mr. Universe to come here right now!"

"Sorry, sweetheart, but daddy still needs to recharge his energy," a male voice said from the other end of the call, sounding both straight-to-the-point, and regretful.

Lindsey gritted her teeth and reached for her pocket as Lola tried to keep up a tough facade by snapping:

"What makes you think you know what I want?! You're just some weirdo who looks like and wants to kill me! We share no connection whatsoever!"

"Oh, quite the contrary, darling, we share a much bigger connection than you think," Proto-Lola shook her head and smirked. "After all, you were made in my image. I saw your very beginnings and your growth through this entire reality's life! And besides..."

With her smirk growing sadistic, Proto-Lola finished:

"What kind of mother would I be if I didn't knew my own daughter's needs?"

Lola, scared heckless from the last sentence, promptly turned back to her redheaded rival. "Lindsey, aren't you going to-"

All the redhead needed to do was swing her yo-yo up and down again to make Lola immediately shut her trap.

"Look, I'm not going to force you to do anything, this is entirely your choice," Lindsey stated with a stern tone. "But I'll give you a warning: If you accept to join her..."

Then, with a determined glare, Lindsey hissed:

"Then I'm going to take you down before you get to do anything with her!"

"Oh, vermin and their bluffing," Proto-Lola said before laughing out loud like a noblewoman, hand gesture and everything. "Isn't it just adorable how they desperately try to look intimidating despite their helplessness?"

Lindsey gritted her teeth, and Lola turned back to see Proto-Lola as she stated, now sounding rather impatient:

"We don't have time to waste, Jophiel, my offer is only available for a limited time. So you either accept it now and join forces with me, or be annihilated in the upcoming loudgeddon and today's... Rather wonky weather."

Lola glanced between the inviting stare of her prototype counterpart, and the battle-ready Lindsey, and glanced at them a couple more times before slowly turning to ultimately look at Proto-Lola.

Just as she was about to walk towards her counterpart, however, a memory flashed in her mind...

 _At the prototype Loud house backyard..._

"What were you thinking?!"

Lola saw through the eyes of what seemed like her old self as Proto-Lana, shedding tears and looking like she would get a heart attack out of shock, while she bandaged Lola-or more accurately Proto-Lola's-body. And a quick look revealed that her legs, arms, and some of her torso were already bandaged too.

"I just couldn't stand at the sidelines and watch my older sister get hurt," "Lola" spoke, sounding like she was just going to cry. "I was just trying to get you out of a sticky situation."

"And you thought that nearly killing yourself by angering and then fighting Ronnie Anne was a good way to do it?!" "Lana" snapped at the bandaged diva. "You know how dangerous she can be when she's angry! We're lucky Lincoln was there to calm her down before she could outright kill you."

Whimpering and sniffing could be heard, and judging from her vision getting blurry and "Lana" putting up a sympathetic look, that was probably coming from "Lola" herself.

"Hey, come on, cheer up a bit," "Lana" said as she wiped off "Lola"'s tears. "I'm only angry because I was so worried for you. Can you imagine seeing your younger sister nearly dying because she was trying to help you? Anybody would feel mortified!"

"But what did you expect me to do?!" "Lola" snapped. "Ronnie was getting angry... A-And she could've hurt you... We could've losed you... _I_ could've losed you..."

"Lana" looked at the ground and sighed, "Lola, can you promise me something?"

"...What?"

"If there's ever another time when you feel like I'm in trouble, and that you could get hurt trying to help me, then please..."

As the memory ended, "Lana"'s words echoed:

"Don't do something you're going to regret."

 _Back in reality..._

Lola flinched and stood firmly on her spot, surprising her counterparts, the Sweewaters and their butler in the process.

" _Wait... The Lana in that memory... S-She has a point..._ " Lola thought as she looked at the ground. " _If I did something like the Lola I looked through in that memory, it probably didn't end well. And if there's anything that I've learned from our previous encounter..._ "

Lola looked back at Proto-Lola, who was visibly growing impatient as the diva continued to think:

" _My counterpart can't be trusted. All she wants is to get me off-guard so she can kill me! That's what they all want, get rid of us and replace us! But just because I'm desperate to get Lana back by my side..._ "

Lola put her arm behind her back, and charged a pink-colored zero energy ball.

" _Doesn't mean I'm going to fall for her trap!_ "

"Um, in case you haven't noticed, not everybody's going to wait for you to finish your thinking, princess," Proto-Lola complained, stomping the ground. "So tell me: Will you accept my offer or-"

With her energy ball fully charged, Lola took a step forward and aimed it at her counterpart.

"I refuse!" Lola proclaimed before shouting, "Diamond Zero Beam!"

A small energy beam came from the sphere, which managed to pierce Proto-Lola's head. More specifically, her left eye. And as the prototype screamed in agony and everybody else winced in disgust, something unexpected happened:

Around six spirits-all looking like versions of Lola-came out of the eye hole until Proto-Lola managed to heal it. By then, though, the proto-diva could only watch as the spirits blew raspberries at her and went off to the heavens

"Dang it, only 262 souls left," Proto-Lola gritted her teeth and turned back to her counterpart, before lifting her arm and charging an energy zero as well. "Do you know what you've done?! I'm most definitely gonna-"

However, just as she finished charging the energy, another hand tightly gripped the diva's arm, causing her energy zero to dissipate. And everybody was in quite a shock when they saw who the arm belonged to.

Proto-Lana.

"Time's up, sister, Lucy needs our help to make sure everything goes according to plan," the prototype plumber sternly stated as her twin futilely tried to free herself from her grasp. "You have failed to do your part, and the quicker you accept that harsh reality, the faster you can come and actually be useful for once."

Proto-Lola looked at the ground, and growled as she turned to Lola, did the "I'm watching you" gesture, then left through a portal that Proto-Lana opened. And with that done, Lola felt somebody touch her shoulder, and once she turned around, she saw it was just Lindsey, sporting an impressed smile.

"I can't believe you just did that," the redhead stated as she saved her yo-yo on her pockets. "You actually defied your own counterpart when she gave you a chance to get what you wanted. I mean, Lola Loud had a chance to get what she wanted, which is what she's best known for... And you didn't take it?"

Lola looked down at the ground and explained:

"I just couldn't accept her offer after what she did to me, what she did to you, as well as simply being an untrustworthy person in general. I mean, she and all the other prototype sisters or whatever they are want to kill us, right? How could I be sure that she wouldn't just backstab me the instant she got the chance? In the end, accepting her offer would've been the worst thing I've ever done in my life. Yes, I want to get on Lana's good side again, but I'd rather work hard to earn her trust than take an easy way out."

Beaming a pleased smile, Lindsey told her earpiece, "Did you got all of that, Greg?"

"I sure did, sweetheart, but I recommend you come to the bunker at the school right now," the voice at the other side answered. "According to the reports we got, there's a thunderstorm coming."

"Can't we just stay here in the mansion?" Lola suggested. "Certainly this place would be capable of withstanding a measly little thunderstorm."

"But this isn't any normal thunderstorm, my dear Loud." the man revealed, following with an even more shocking revelation, "This is a thunderstorm of divine proportions."

 _Meanwhile, back with Lynn and Carol's fight..._

The "fight" between Carol and Lynn continued to rage on as Carol, with several portals open close to her, threw several punches and kicks through said portals, which came out of portals that opened close to Lynn, who couldn't process what was happening fast enough to block anything.

"Geez, this seems, like, really unfair," Leni remarked, wincing as the "fight" continued before turning to Lori. "Are you sure we should let this beating go on?"

"The only way Lynn's going to admit her fault, or learn her lesson for that matter, is if she's beaten into realizing it," Lori sternly answered. "Besides, after spending so long without doing any physical exercise or battling, this little "fight" will definitely make her think twice before complaining about it."

"Good lord, this is stacked way against Lynn's favor!" Polly complained, earning a look from Margo and Proto-Lynn. "How's she supposed to fight back when Carol can't even let her come close enough to attack? I thought this was supposed to be a fair fight!"

"Yeah, and I thought you were supposed to be Lynn's girlfriend," Margo sneered, shooting a condescending wink at Polly before adding, "But seeing how little she cares about you, I guess we can both agree we were wrong about something."

And as Margo and Proto-Lynn shared a high five, Polly gritted her teeth and growled in exasperation.

Meanwhile, at the other side, Lucy was trying to get a good enough look at Carol and Lynn to try and get what their tarot cards were supposed to be, but she just couldn't find out what they were no matter how hard they tried.

"Dang it, I can't manage to get a good enough look at both of them to guess their tarot cards," Lucy remarked, earning Lana's attention. "And when I try to look at them individually, it doesn't work either."

"Whatever power you're trying to use, I think it would be better if you saved it for people who're staying sill," Lana suggested as Lucy gave up. "For now, let's just hope Lynn manages to find a way to win this fight."

"I guess so..." and then Lucy asked, "By the way, Lana, why aren't you cheering for Carol? The ones who're supporting her sit by Leni's side."

"That's because I'm not going to take her side this time," Lana looked at the ground. "I just... Think it's unfair for me to cheer up a girl I don't know that well over my own sister. I mean, Lynn may've done some things wrong... But she doesn't deserve all the hate she's getting."

Lucy, feeling suspicious at Lana's forlorn tone, used her tarot discovery power on her.

The tarot card was basically represented with a heart being stabbed by three swords. And that was enough for Lucy to realize what card Lana had gotten. However, rather than bringing it up, the goth silently turned back to watch the beating Lynn was getting.

And then, the portals vanished and Carol took the chance to stretch, while Lynn quickly caught her breath. Rather tellingly, she had a pair of black eyes, broken teeth, and she was bleeding from her nose and mouth, while Carol-of course-didn't look hurt at all.

"Just to give you a heads up, this fight will continue until you admit you have a problem!" Carol warned, causing the jock to flinch. "I got a lot of stamina in reserve, so I can potentially go on until you're-"

"I have a problem!"

Carol flinched and turned around to see Lynn, about to cry-probably from the pain-before confessing:

"I have a problem, alright?! I admit it, I have, and I always have had, a problem!"

This statement caught the attention of everyone, though the reactions were varied: Those from Lori's side were happy and relieved that the jock finally admitted such a simple statement, while the ones from Leni's side were surprised-shocked even-that the prideful Lynn Loud actually admitted she had a problem in the first place!

And in Carol's case, though she was surprised, she wasn't yet convinced the jock had learned her lesson.

"Say it so loud, you'll be practically shout it to the heavens!" Carol opened a portal and got ready to send a kick through it. "Either do that now, or I'll beat you up until your entire face needs facial reconstruction!"

Shedding tears of mixed feelings of fear, helplessness, and rage, Lynn looked to the skies and yelled, while forming a pair of fists:

"I _have_ a problem! I've _always_ had a problem, and I've _refused_ to admit it, 'cause I thought that if I did, then I would no longer be the Lynn that everybody knew! The Lynn that was good at everything!"

Then, she fell on her knees, and cried:

"Because how can I claim to be the best at everything, how can I claim to be the unbeatable superstar of the family, if I can't even help myself deal with my own problems?! How can I be the strongest Loud, and yet need help to deal with my issues?!"

Carol stood her ground and sighed in relief as she closed the portal, having gotten Lynn to admit her faults. Everybody else were conflicted: Ronnie, Polly, as well as the other sisters minus Lori, were sympathetic to Lynn's words, but Margo and Lori weren't so sympathetic. In fact, they just seemed to roll their eyes in annoyance.

"However..."

Lynn stood up, and orange electricity surged through her body as the skies suddenly darkened, which caught everybody's attention. Lori, Leni, and Carol's in particular. And they watched in horror as Lynn was surrounded by a red aura.

"Just 'cause I've got a problem..."

Suddenly, the red aura turned orange, and Lynn's whole body got an orange-ish tint as she yelled at the skies:

"That doesn't mean I'll throw the towel now, Carol! I will defeat you, one way, or another!"

Everybody else, however, was too focused on the darkening skies

"What's even going on?!" Ronnie exclaimed as she clung to Lori for safety. "Is this being done by Lynn?!"

"No," Lori stated with a concerned tone. "This is happening because of someone much greater."

Upon hearing that statement, Ronnie's eyes grew wide as she could think of only one person who could cause something like this. Or at least, the most logical conclusion she could get.

 _Meanwhile, at the Loud house..._

Lincoln laid on the floor, clutching his swollen stomach and howling in pain as Luna and Luan immediately went to his aid.

"Lincoln, we came here as soon as we heard you scream like mom during labor!" Luan shouted, and even she couldn't help but slap herself from the inopportune joke. "Did you eat something spoiled? Did you fall down the stairs? T-Tell us, what's wrong?!"

The boy groaned. "I... I think..."

"Give it to us straight, Love!" Luna stated. "What's wrong?!"

Then, shedding tears, Lincoln yelled at the top of his lungs:

"I think I'm going to give birth!"

- **Next Chapter Preview** -

"Oh, dear Lynn, you've always been a weakling," Proto-Lynn sneered, folding her arms. "Yes, you may be strong in the physical sense. But in the emotional and psychological sense, you're one of the most pathetic people I've ever met."

"And why would you even care about that?!" Lynn snapped, clearly growing exasperated with her counterpart. "If you really were me, you'd be focusing on being the best at everything and winning all the time!"

"And I do focus on those things at time, but unlike a certain someone-you-I don't overwork myself to try and compensate for my own weaknesses," Proto-Lynn scoffed with a chuckle. "And I'm also not a coward who's unable to accept when she loses because of her own mistakes."

"I'm none of those things!" Lynn shouted, her aura briefly expanding to be twice her own size before turning back to normal as she asked, "Why are we even talking?! We should be fighting right now!"

"You know? You got a point," Proto-Lynn spread her arms out, almost as if she was asking for a hug. "So come on, come to mommy's arms like the good little girl you are, Junior."


	41. Hide For Your Lives!

**Okay, before we begin, there are two things I want to point out:**

 **1) This is officially my longest story yet: The Loud Sim Date was the previous at 206000+ words, but right now, Chains of Reality just broke past 220000+ with no end in sight. This is gonna be a long ride, people.**

 **2) If you've watched "The Loudest Mission: Relative Mission" and/or "Pet Peeved", two names brought up in this chapter might sound familiar to you.**

 **And that's, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, Lynn and Carol faced off in a fairly one-sided battle to try and get Lynn to admit that she had a problem. However, just as everything seemed to be working out, Lynn not only unlocked the Savinoken, but the sky darkened into an orange thunderstorm.**

 **Meanwhile, Lola visited Lindsey Sweetwater in order to discuss some things, and not only was her disgust for Lola revealed to the diva herself, but Proto-Lola appeared to strike a deal with her counterpart, only for Lola to respond with a zero energy blast to the face!**

 **And for further shock, Lincoln has begun to give birth!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 41: Everyone go into Hiding, the Divine Birth has Begun! Wait, the Younger Prototypes Work as Bodyguards?!**

* * *

At the Loud house, Lincoln continued to clutch his chest and groan in pain as Luan helped him walk outside, and Luna was writing a message on her phone.

"Don't worry, Love, I'll make sure to let our family, or at least our sisters, know about your current condition," the rocker said as she finished her message and sent it to her contacts. "I'm not sure how they'll react to the news, but they'll hopefully go hide somewhere safe."

"And while they do that, we're going to help you give birth, however that's supposed to work," Luan added, brushing her brother's hair. "And I assure you, there's no better place to give birth to in the middle of a grass field!"

Once the trio went to the backyard, however, they saw the thunderclouds were not only an extremely dark orange, but they constantly roared with orange lighting, throwing it amongst themselves while thunders were heard all over the place, creating an atmosphere of danger. Divine danger, even.

Naturally, the terrified comedian said, "Although, if you don't mind looking for another place-"

Lincoln screamed bloody murder.

"Middle of the thunderstorm it is!" Luan settled her brother on the ground, and spotted Luna turning into Dumah. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm gonna go see if everybody's going to a safe spot," Luna-Dumah answered, before flashing a smile and thumbs up at the joker. "And if I'm lucky, I'll find somebody who can help us help Lincoln give birth!"

"But Luna-"

Dumah spread her wings and flew away as Luan yelled:

"-You can't just leave me alone with him!"

Sadly, there was no helping with the flying rocker, and Luan just sighed and decided to try her best of her ability to help Lincoln prepare for the birthing.

And of course, the first people to get the message were Lori, Leni, Lucy, Lana, and Lynn. With that done, Lori and Leni used Carol's power of teleportation to head to the backyard immediately, and Lucy and Lana ran off to the house right away, with Lucy riding Lana like a horse.

Lynn? She would've ran off as well, if only Proto-Lynn didn't get in her way in the process.

"Other me, of all the times you could get in my way, you decide to do it now?!" Lynn spat, her aura growing bigger as she asked, "Why? What reason would you even have to fight me?!"

"The birth of my youngest sister is about to begin," Proto-Lynn bluntly stated. "And I'm not letting you prevent that from happening!"

"Why would I even want to stop that?!" Lynn pondered, causing her prototype counterpart to raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, having her be born is a bad thing to me and my reality, but right now, I just wanna beat the stuffing out of Carol! She deserves it for making me look weak!"

"Oh, dear Lynn, you've always been a weakling," Proto-Lynn sneered, folding her arms. "Yes, you may be strong in the physical sense. But in the emotional and psychological sense, you're one of the most pathetic people I've ever met."

"And why would you even care about that?!" Lynn snapped, clearly growing exasperated with her counterpart. "If you really were me, you'd be focusing on being the best at everything and winning all the time!"

"And I do focus on those things at time, but unlike a certain someone-you-I don't overwork myself to try and compensate for my own weaknesses," Proto-Lynn scoffed with a chuckle. "And I'm also not a coward who's unable to accept when she loses because of her own mistakes."

"I'm none of those things!" Lynn shouted, her aura briefly expanding to be twice her own size before turning back to normal as she asked, "Why are we even talking?! We should be fighting right now!"

"You know? You got a point," Proto-Lynn spread her arms out, almost as if she was asking for a hug. "So go ahead, come to mommy's arms like the good little girl you are, Junior."

Triggered by being called "Junior," Lynn flew straight for Proto-Lynn and punched her with a right hook, before continuing their fight as Polly and Margo watched from the ground.

"Aw geez, after that beating she got from the blonde girl, there's no way Lynn can match up against that lookalike of hers!" Polly exclaimed, just before a thunder was heard. "And if they fight during this thunderstorm, who knows what could happen! Come on, we-"

However, once the roller skater turned to face Margo, she saw that the girl was walking away from the scene. "M-Margo, where are you going? Aren't you going to help Lynn?"

"You can go help her and get killed in the process," Margo waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "I have better things to do, like help my "sisters" get to safety."

"Okay, but can you help me help Lynn deal with her fight first, if only for a little bit?!" Polly asked. "After all, you two are supposed to be friends, right?"

Upon hearing herself being called Lynn's friend, she stopped, turned around to face Polly, and with a mocking look, she scoffed:

"Friends? Is that what she told you? If you really believe those big fat lies she's talking about, then I guess her deceit skills have improved since we last met."

And as Margo turned back and resumed her walk, Polly got another memory of the intervention:

 _Polly's flashback..._

"Why do you speak so glowingly of Margo?! I've known you for years, and last time I checked, you only met her after the final match the Royal Woods Roosters had with the Hazeltucky Hockers softball team before they disbanded!" Polly snapped, clearly being close to tears. "What's so good about her anyway?!"

"Well, for starters, none of her special moves require that she spins her partner so hard until they hurl!" Lynn snapped in return. "And besides, she's kind, supportive, straight-to-the-point, and most importantly, she loyal!"

 _Back at the present..._

Polly couldn't help but feel doubtful about Lynn's words after that little encounter.

" _What's up with her? She doesn't seem like the sort of girl Lynn was talking about before,_ " Polly scratched her head in confusion. " _Did something happen that made her start acting like this?_ "

And then a thunder was heard, bringing the roller skater back to reality.

"Ugh, I have no time to think about this!" Polly slapped herself. "I have to go help Lynn!"

So the roller skater... Rolled towards the battle of Lynns, all while the orange thunderclouds looked like they were ready to release some lighting.

 _Meanwhile, at the organization..._

Rita and Lynn Sr. were sitting alongside the teacher trio-Mrs. Johnson, DiMartino, and Shrinivas-as well as several other members like the reporter lady Catherine and Maggie's mother Samantha, watching a large monitor connected to the Royal Woods Defense Academy, when they got Luna's message.

"Let me guess, It's one of your daughters informing you about your son giving birth?" Maggie's mom guessed.

"That's very much it, and she's also telling us to get to a safe place," Rita answered before stretching her arms and placing them behind her head. "Good thing we're quite a few steps ahead of that, right?"

"Yeah, as long as the "we" in that sentence doesn't include you," Mrs. DiMartino sneered. "Don't you think that as their "mother" it's your responsibility, to an extent, to help your son give birth?"

Rita raised an eyebrow. "But wouldn't you need us to help keep track of the refugees?"

DiMartino groaned. "There you go again, talking as if you were significant members of the organization."

"Mrs. Loud, if you allow me to speak for DiMartino," Mrs. Shrinivas said, luckily preventing the woman from flying into a rage just in time. "I think what she's trying to say is that, this is your chance to not only finally return home after month or so of working in here, but you maybe you could also pull out the Royal Woodrone?"

"Oh right, the giant robot you put to test a while ago," Mrs. Johnson blurted. "It should be sturdy enough to handle a couple of lighting strikes. And, like in Lisa's original design, a part of its body could hold a sizable part of the population."

"That sounds like a good plan," Lynn Sr. spoke. "Maybe we should-"

"Lynn, please, we both know that my opinion surpasses yours no matter what it is, no matter the topic," Rita replied, putting her hands on her hips as she added, "And why's that the case?"

Lynn Sr. sighed with a tone of exasperation. "'Cause you know best."

"True, and with that said, I say we do exactly what they suggested!" Rita got up and ran off to the exit. "To the dressing room!"

"Why?"

"We're going to pilot a giant robot! We obviously need to look cool for that!"

Lynn Sr. sighed and promptly got up, but just as he followed his wife, he got some words from Maggie's mother, Samantha:

"I'm sorry that you had to be paired up with someone like Rita, but if you ever feel like you need to take a break from her, you can always give us a call and we'll see if we can hang out, alright?"

The man, without even turning to the ladies, smiled and answered:

"Thanks for the offer, I'll keep it in mind."

 _Meanwhile, at the Santiagos' household..._

Bobby, Mrs. Santiago, and Ronnie Anne watched from the inside of their house as the orange thunderclouds continued to roar thunder, and flash orange lights.

"Wow, it really is as bad as Lori's message says it is," Bobby voiced, putting on a smile of fear. "I hope all the Louds are in a safe place by now."

"Perhaps it would be better to check up on the Casagrandes," Mrs. Santiago suggested, her eyes firmly looking at the clouds. "I'm not sure if the thunderstorm is reaching that far, but if it is, then we need to help them find shelter right now."

"Good idea," Bobby nodded. "What do you think, Nie Nie?"

Ronnie, however, didn't answer. She just looked at the clouds for a moment before she turned her head low and looked at the ground.

" _Ever since Lame-O and I started to investigate this weird stuff, I promised Lame-O that I would try to be there for him. That I would try to hang out with him more,_ " Ronnie narrowed her eyes and frowned. " _And ever since I said that, I haven't made good on my promise. He's got to train, face off against those prototypes, and who knows what other stuff... And I've done nothing in comparison._ "

"Ronalda?"

Hearing her name being called made the freckled tomboy return to reality, prompting her to say, "Oh, yeah, I think that's a good plan too."

"I'll go get our stuff ready then," the Santiago matriarch stated before heading deeper into the house.

And just as Bobby followed her, Ronnie grabbed his sleeve and, catching his attention, asked:

"Bobby, let's say Lori is outside in the middle of a rainy thunderstorm. You know where she is, and you could go out to help her. What would you do?"

"Well, isn't it obvious? I'd go help her!" Bobby confidently answered with a bright smile. "Granted, I would need to send her a message to let her know I was coming, but still, I wouldn't hesitate to go to her side."

Ronnie smiled and allowed her brother to continue on his way. And once he was out of sight, Ronnie took out her phone, wrote a message that she sent to Clyde, and promptly left the house and bolted straight for the Loud house as she said to herself:

"Hang on, Lame-O, I'm coming!"

 _Meanwhile, with Lucy and Lana..._

The blinded poet tightly gripped Lana's shirt's neck as the plumber ran on all four, trying to avoid any incoming lighting strikes as they tried their hardest to reach the Loud house before the birth was well underway. However, their path was blocked when a sudden zero blast caused the duo to separate, with Lana being sent off flying to the distance while the perpretrators showed their faces:

They were Proto-Lucy, alongside the Proto-Twins.

"You two go deal with Hayyel," the prototype goth ordered the proto-twins. "I'll deal with Ariel over here."

The proto-twins nodded, with Proto-Lola doing so hesitantly, and they promptly flew away just as Lucy got up and shot a glare at her counterpart.

"You just don't know when to stop annoying us, don't you, Vine?!" she snapped, forming a fist. "Don't you think you've hurt me and my siblings enough?!"

"Listen up, Ariel, It's been a long while since I've been able to vent my frustrations," Proto-Lucy sighed. "First, my youngest sister winds up coming back to Lincoln so he can successfully give birth to her, taking away the only thing keeping us calm in that dimensional corpse. Then, I'm summoned by a redheaded whore who plays me like a fiddle to get some information. And third, I was unable to even enjoy my personal toy before she escaped and I was forced to kill her!"

"Wait, the personal toy thing..." Lucy shivered at the thought. "W-Who are you talking about?!"

"Who else? The little brat known as Magdalene Lopez-Swagger Junior," the proto-goth revealed. "I think she's better known as Maggie for some reason?"

Though the anger from the previous incident still rang true for the goth, she still wished to know what happened to the emo teenager.

"Oh, and before you ask, she died in the middle of a prison cell, her insides eaten by one of the hishurazh I left behind on her belly," Proto-Lucy nonchalantly revealed, no doubt striking a nerve. "I wonder how the little abomination's doing by now?"

Lucy gritted her teeth and growled, before trying to transform into her "Lucyfer" form... Only to turn back to normal right away. "Wait, what?!"

"Trying to reach your angelic form? Sorry, darling, but that's just not going to work anymore," Proto-Lucy shook her head and shrugged. "The only reason you even managed to access it in the first place was thanks to Lincoln's words. You never assimilated the power into becoming your own, you just borrowed it to beat me that one time. And with that done, you won't be able to access the form again until you conquer your beastly form, which, seeing how you're among the weakest of the Louds, sounds very unlikely."

The goth, however, didn't let this revelation get her down, as she spat:

"S-So what?! Just because I can't become Lucyfer again doesn't mean I won't defeat you!"

The protoype goth cackled like a maniac.

"Fair enough, if that's what you think..."

From Proto-Lucy's back sprouted a large shadow-like guardian, which was apparently formed out of various alternate counterparts of Lucy, all moving in unison before forming a large, nearly pitch black dome that surrounded both goths.

"Bring it on!"

And as this happened, Lana just got up when the proto-twins arrived, both looking rather confident.

"Ugh, you two again, huh?" Lana immediately formed a fist out of rock. "Even without Lola or without proper training with this rock-arm-thing, you shouldn't take me lightly!"

"And I'm afraid the exact same thing applies to us, sweetie," Proto-Lola scoffed as she walked forward and boasted, "And in case you've forgotten, the only reason you won against us was because you had your sister's help. But now, she's nowhere to be seen! And-"

Suddenly, Proto-Lana took out her long tongue and wrapped Proto-Lola with it, before swiftly swallowing her whole, causing her appearance to change slightly: She had a vest that ended like a dress, and her hair and pigtails had grown longer.

"Okay, I don't know why you did that, or why I get the feeling that spells bad news for me," Lana gripped her rock fist. "But still, I'm not going down without a fight!"

Proto-Lana smirked, and formed a diamond shape with her arms as Lana leaped straight for her, ready to strike.

 _Then, at Mrs. Johnson's house..._

Sam, sitting on the couch, was checking her phone as Becky, Hugh, and Tabby looked at the orange thunderstorm, which was now beginning to shot lighting bolts at anything other than itself.

"Hugh, the weather in England is usually rainy, right?" Becky inquired. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Okay, I just want to make it clear that the view of England-and specially London-as a rainy place really aggravates," the guy growled, folding his arms as he added, "And second, I'm afraid you're wrong-"

"Oh, what's this? Somebody other than me being wrong about something?" Sam mockingly said, earning her siblings' begrudging attention. "What an unexpected turn of events!"

"Oh, just shut up and keep looking for anything about today's forecast!" Becky snapped at the blonde. "And why is it taking you so long to do it, anyway?!"

"I'm working as fast as I can, alright?! I would've found out about the dang forecast already if Johnson hadn't forbidden me from using the laptop!" Sam snapped.

And as the blonde tried to find the forecast with her phone again, she mumbled under her teeth:

"I mean seriously, you draw a little picture that makes Maggie look gay for the Loud responsible for "ruining her joy" with her pranks, and suddenly, you're no longer allowed to use the laptop until you're legally an adult. I swear, that woman has a bad habit of taking things out of proportion."

And then Sam got a message, prompting her to yell at the top of her lungs, causing Becky and Hugh to come to her.

"What happened this time?" Becky asked in exasperation.

"I just got a message from Lamp," Sam sternly stated as she casually showed the message to her older siblings.

"Lamp?" Hugh repeated.

"It's a nickname my classmates call Luna," Sam explained as she read the message to herself. "The only ones who really call her that are those who like her, though, and even then they only do it if she says it's okay for them to do so. Supposedly, they call her that since she's one of the optimistic girls in the classroom or something."

"And do you like her?" Becky inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Sam growled and answered, while writing a response to the message, "She's nice, but if she really thinks she can take my place as the number one Mick Swagger fan, she'll have to try hard to take it away from me! Nobody other than me will get the honor of being daddy's biggest fan!"

Then Hugh saw Sam's response and said, "Um, Sam, I think you just wrote a bunch of nonsense in your response in the middle of your anger."

And as Sam saw and laid her head low as she deleted her response while whining about it, Tabby continued to look at the developing thunderstorm, feeling like there was something missing.

And once she realized there wasn't so much something missing, but _someone_ missing, there was only one person she could think of:

"Polly!"

So the girl went as quickly to the door as possible and tried to leave... Only to have a lasso tie itself around her waist, preventing her from leaving. However, the lasso was pink, lime green, and light blue in color, which made her realize who was the one the lasso belonged to.

None other than Becky.

"Hold it right there, girl," Becky said, clinging the multicolor lasso as hard as she could. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Polly's still outside!" Tabby stated as she wiggled, trying to set herself free. "I need to make sure she goes to a safe place!"

Sam promptly grabbed Becky's waist and helped her stay balanced as she said, "Calm down, Tabby, your friend's most likely fine. Trust me, I'm sure she's found some shelter under a large tree."

"That's precisely how most people die in thunderstorms!"

The blonde couldn't help but fall silent, and let Hugh try to speak sense into the situation:

"Tabby, we don't know how long it'll be before lighting bolts start raining down, and seeing how this is a thunderstorm unlike any other, we have no idea what they could do if they struck anybody."

Upon hearing that, the young rocker couldn't help but look at the ground in contemplation as Sam added:

"Think of it like this: Which idea is better? Go out in the middle of a supernatural thunderstorm, or stay in this shelter we call home, and wait for things to calm down?"

And, after a couple seconds, Tabby answered:

"Are you kidding me? The answer's obvious! Being out in the middle of a supernatural thunderstorm is a much worse idea than staying here with you..."

The siblings sighed in relief, only for Tabby to generate a rainbow swaggergy sword, then cut Becky's lasso before stating:

"But I'm not going to let the only friend I have left die!"

Without wasting time, Tabby left the house as fast as she could, with Hugh, Becky, and Sam exchanging horrified looks before they nodded in agreement and chased after her.

 _Meanwhile, at the Church of Lincolnism..._

Proto-Luna watched as the cheerleaders kept the door open to give some other lincolnists the chance to come inside. And luckily enough, among the lincolnists who were inside were the biker trio, who hugged each other as they watched with worry, hoping that nobody would be left behind.

And then everybody heard thunder, causing everybody to alarm for a moment.

"The lord's thunder!" Mabel, the sweater girl, exclaimed.

"The birth's going to start soon," Candy, the cookie girl, said as she grabbed Beverly's, the brownie girl's, hand. "Do you think we're going to be okay?"

"As long as I have you by my side, everything'll be okay in my opinion," Beverly spoke, before kissing Candy's cheek.

"Aw, you!"

"Sister Pravuil," Proto-Luna stated, catching the biker leader's attention. "Be sure to inform Champion Carlota and Champion Claire to go out and help protect the birth. Seeing how our counterparts continue to live, not to mention all the other known threats we have in this reality, Lily's birth may be in danger of being interrupted."

"G-Got it, High Sister Luna!"

And as everybody continued to come in, a particular Sister of Lincolnism stood outside, helping other Brothers and Sisters, proper or potential alike, reach their way into the church, just in time for another thunder to roar.

This Sister was Paige, the current Sister-Lover, who looked up to see the thunderstorm become a bit more orange-tinted than before, all while the kids she was guiding shivered and whimpered.

"Dang it, the thunderstorm's about to begin!" Paige growled before barking, "Everybody, continue to run, the church's close!"

And so, everybody continued to run, with almost everybody getting inside, except for Paige. When she tried, she was stopped by none other than Margo, who gestured the cheerleaders to let her handle the doors from there.

"Margo, let me in!" Paige barked at the athlete, who didn't even flinch.

"I'm afraid there's no reason for me to do so," Margo sternly answered. "You see, High Sister Luna found out about your little "pissing off the lord and savior" deal, and she figured that leaving you outside without any shelter would be an appropriate punishment."

Naturally, Paige started to panic. "So you're just going to leave me, the Sister-Lover, to be vaporized by Lincoln's lighting?!"

Margo smirked. "You brought this upon yourself."

And as soon as Paige tried to force her way in, Margo shut the door right in front of her face before stating, "Doors closed, nobody else is allowed in."

"You can't just close the doors now!" Pravuil exclaimed, her friends nodding in agreement. "Did you check if everybody was inside?! M-Maybe we forgot-"

"Calm down, children, we gathered as many people as we could, the only thing we can do now is wait for the birth to finish," Proto-Luna stated, clasping her hands before looking at a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness. "And besides, if any of our brothers and sisters wind up dying, we can always just revive them."

Proto-Luna snapped her fingers, and the figure with glowing eyes walked out, revealing he was none other than Silas, looking just as deadpanly depressed as usual.

"Isn't that right, Brother Silas?" Proto-Luna asked as she walked towards the girl.

The boy bowed down and answered, "Yes, High Sister Luna."

"That's why Lucy chose you as her champion," Proto-Luna brushed Silas' hair for a moment, then turned to the rest of the linconlists. "Now let's move on, everybody, the deeper we go into the bunker the less likely the lord's wrath will strike us."

And as everybody followed Proto-Luna deeper into the bunker, Pravuil, Cindy, and Mindy immediately ran up to Silas and the leader asked, "You're just as unhappy as we are right?"

"When your sole job is to walk up to the corpse of your fellow "siblings," and bring them back to life, with their memories intact, unhappy tends to quickly become your standard mood," the goth somberly answered.

She fell silent afterwards, and so did the trio as they continued to follow the high sister into safety.

Which basically left Paige to panic outside. After all, the divine thunderstorm brought by Proto-Lily's birth was coming, and she was out, alone and helpless!

"Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have wasted so much time trying to look for other Sisters and Brothers! Now what am I supposed to do?! I can't expect to survive Lincoln's lighting, it's Lincoln! And after the terrible first impression I gave him a while ago, he's certainly going to be aiming for my butt!"

Then, she remembered something she had.

"Wait, the BunBunserker!"

Paige took out the toy-like plush bunny from before and turned it into the mobile mecha, the titular BunBunserker.

"It won't be able to survive many lighting strikes, but it'll at least save me from being vaporized by them," Paige said as she got on the cockpit and sat down. "Okay, time to go see if any Brothers or Sisters were left behind!"

 _Back at the Loud house..._

Lincoln breathed heavily as Luan held his hand, just in time for Carol, Leni, and Lori to arrive.

"Oh thank goodness, you don't know how happy I am to see you!" Luan said in relief as Carol went to check up on her and Lincoln. "Luna flew off to look for people out of safe zones and left me here to deal with Lincoln alone!"

"Let me guess, she told you she'd be back before things got too bad?" Lori guessed, folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

Though hesitant to answer, probably due to their previous history, Luan eventually nodded, prompting Lori to sigh in exasperation.

"Ugh, that girl and her overconfidence. Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing bad happens to you."

The blonde trio exchanged looks and nodded before going to the edges of the backyard, then raising their arms-or just one arm in Leni's case-creating a large protective dome, just in time for one of the lighting bolts to come heading straight for the backyard. And though the dome did manage to block it, part of it was shattered, only for it to slowly heal afterwards.

"Oh man, that was quite a _shock_ , wasn't it!" Luan quipped, laughing hysterically before screaming at her sisters, "How did you know a lighting bolt was coming?!"

"We didn't, so you better be glad that we made the dome just in time!" Lori snapped at the comedian before turning back to the sky. "It won't be able to withstand a lot of bolt strikes, though, so you better get ready!"

"Why are you telling me this?!"

"Luan, the reason a lighting bolt came straight for us was because you were going through an intense emotion overload," Leni explained with a worried tone. "Fear, anxiety, worry, you felt all those things just now, didn't you?"

"W-Well, I did," Luan glanced at her brother, who continued to breath heavily. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Luan, there's something you need to know right now, but we need you to pay attention, alright?" Carol stated, earning the comedian and boy in labor's attention. "What we're about to tell you is a bit of a shocker, pun not intended, so take this as seriously as possible, alright?"

Luan and Lincoln exchanged looks, and after nodding at each other, Luan promptly turned to Carol and listened as she, Lori, and Leni, stated in unison:

"You can control lighting with your emotions!"

The pair, of course, were quite baffled by this revelation. Though while Lincoln looked like he had sort of an idea as to how this could make sense, Luan was completely lost.

So much so, in fact, she could only utter "What?" in an "are you serious?" tone.

And apparently that was enough to cause another lighting bolt to strike the dome, this time doing so hard enough to cause the ground to shake violently.

The shaking was so intense, it could even be felt in the underground laboratory, where Lisa and Clyde could barely manage to keep their balance. And then Clyde's phone rang.

"It's a new message, from Ronnie Anne?" the boy checked his message and frowned with worry. "She says she's already coming here to try and help Lincoln in whatever way she can."

"And speaking of messages, I also got one from Luna, telling me that Lincoln's going to give birth in the backyard, and for everybody to go hide in a safe place until the orange thunderstorm stuff ends," Lisa casually remarked, before chirping, "Isn't it great?!"

Naturally, Clyde was... Less than happy about this statement.

"Isn't it great? _Isn't it great?!_ Lincoln is going through some traumatizing stuff, while a weird thunderstorm is about to cause great damage to the city, and you think it's _great!?_ "

"But of course, what better way to test out the Royal Woodroid 5000, than during a catastrophic situation like this one?" Lisa turned back to the giant robot behind her and clasped her hands. "Just think about it: Things are dire, the skies are dark, and then the Royal Woodroid 5000 comes out of nowhere and helps save the day! Can you think

"How are you even going to get this dang thing out?!"

"Easy, I'll just open up the backyard and-"

"Luna's message explicitly stated that Lincoln's giving birth in the backyard!"

Lisa's smile slowly turned into a grimace when she realized what this meant.

"Oh, dang it. Well, we can always go into the bunker deeper down inside and-"

Then she noticed Clyde going into the elevator, and pressing a button to take him all the way up to the backyard.

"W-Wait, what are you doing?! If you come out now, everybody's going to realize the existence of this place!"

"Oh, come on, don't act like that's a big deal, it's the last thing they need to worry about right now," the boy stated with a stern tone. "Besides, if nobody has bothered to question why they let you operate with dangerous chemicals, or use your siblings as test subjects, they probably won't question you having an underground laboratory either. They'll probably just ignore it like everything else."

The elevator's doors closed, and Lisa watched with worry as it went up, until she looked at the ground and she nervously mumbled:

"I can't see that happening."

 _Meanwhile, in the sequel to battle of goths..._

"I can't see anything happening!"

The only thing Lucy could hear in the middle of the pitch black dome were Proto-Lucy's laughter as she felt herself be attacked by several copies of herself. What they were doing to her, she didn't know, but it certainly hurt a lot.

"It's not so fun or entertaining when _you're_ the one suffering the beating, isn't it, Ariel?" Proto-Lucy scoffed, her eyesockets glowing grey as she slowly approached the Gothic poet. "Now you'll get to feel the humilliation I did a week ago! Now you'll know what it feels like to be powerless!"

Then, the proto-goth reached the girl...

"And most importantly..."

Proto-Lucy grabbed Lucy by the cheeks, and got ready to punt her as she shouted:

"You will feel what it feels like to be helpless!"

And with a single kick-or more accurately knee-to the face, Lucy was sent flying so hard, she burst through the pitch black dome and flew up for a couple seconds before plummeting to the ground, screaming in pain upon hitting the ground.

Now that she was in clear light, or as clear as the thunderstorm made it look anyway, the goth could see that she had bleeding cuts all over her body: arms, legs, face, probably her torso as well, and while they didn't hurt that much on their own, they certainly frightened the blinded poet.

"I honestly thought I was going to die for a moment there," Lucy said as she dusted herself, only to notice the cuts all over her body. "What? She sliced me several times, but not in a way that would make me drop dead? Just what is she planning to do?"

And then the goth's attention was caught when she saw Lana drop right next to her, also with several cuts on her body.

"Ugh, I can't tell if she's stronger than before or if the fact she swallowed her sister made her stronger," Lana said as she shakily got back up. "But I certainly don't remember having this much trouble back when Lola and I faced against her."

Just before the duo could try to fight back, however, their legs were caught by some tentacled appendages, which was shadowy for Lucy and actually animalistic for Lana, and Proto-Lucy and Proto-Lana appeared again to show the appendages were connected to their backs.

"Did you really think we were going to let you recover?" Proto-Lucy scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Now that you're tired, and damaged, we can finally regain what was taken away from us!"

"What nonsense are you talking about this time?!" Lana snapped.

"Your brother... Our brother... Took away half of our powers and transplanted them into your being," Proto-Lana explained before forcefully pining Lana to the ground, just as Proto-Lucy did the same to Lucy. "And once we take you over, we can combine your powers, our powers, as well as the powers of the Lanas and Lucies inside our beings, to become the perfect protection for Lily's birth!"

"Proto-Lily's about to be born?!" Lana exclaimed, before glancing at the sky. "I guess that would explain why the sky darkened and turned kinda orange-y, then."

"But do you really need to do this?!" Lucy asked, trying to free herself from the appendage. "I mean, you're probably strong enough to-"

And then, some black-or blue in Lana's case-slimey stuff fell on their faces, and they looked up to see half of their counterparts' faces had melted, with several screaming souls of Lanas and Lucies trying to escape from the melted half, prompting the prototypes to slowly morph as they said, in unison:

"There's no point in arguing right now."

After essentially turning into liquid humanoids, right before entering Lucy and Lana's bodies through their cuts.

"We shall control Metamorphosis and Twilight once more!"

And then everything went back... Followed by a pair of agonizing screams...


	42. New Poll's Up (News Update)

**I posted a new poll on my profile to decide Chains of Reality's fate. I just came to realize that even if I did manage to get a hold on what I want to do with this story in later chapters, It's been a big mess. And while it's not the first time this has happened, just look at The Loud Sim Date (Wait! Don't do that, for the love of Lincoln!), this is the first time I legitimately think there's no way I can actually fix this in time.**

 **So, the new poll's up for you to decide what will happen to this story. 'Cause if there's something I really don't want to do, is waste all of your time trying to make an utter mess a good story. And before you ask as to why I think this story's a mess:**

 **1) As said before, there's a lack of clarity of basically EVERYTHING. And lack of clarity in some things isn't bad, in fact, it can create a good mystery. But when you LITERALLY (No offense, Lori) can't follow anything that happens, or if nothing's explained so much your suspension of disbelief is broken, then there's a problem there.**

 **2) NONE of the characters feel like the way they should. Perhaps I just thought that, this being basically a post-series AU epic would justify a little change in personality, but clearly, that was a mistake. I mean, how can you even enjoy a story if the characters in it don't even feel like themselves? That's a massive problem.**

 **3) This is something I just realized, but it almost feels like the whole thing is more of an original fiction disguised as a Loud House fanfiction. Think about it: Lack of clarity, needlessly expanding the world, characters not acting like themselves, it just screams original fiction all over the place, and that's a major issue.**

 **And those are just three of potentially dozen reasons why this fic just won't work. I've managed to entertain you this long... But apparently, it was for nothing. And I'm sorry I have to ask for your help again, but... Well, there's a big chance that if I decide myself, then it's just going to be another massive mistake, 'cause this story's proven I have a bad habit of making those things.**

 **I want to write this sort of story. I really do. An anime-like Loud House sounds like something that would be a blast to write it. But having a blast writing it, and having a blast reading it, are two different things.**

 **But I've rambled long enough, poll's up, please decide either there, or if you wanna take a third (technically fourth) option, you can suggest something in the reviews. But I need you to be honest. And yes, I know putting up this melodrama while the birth is happening is a massive letdown and annoyance, but let's be honest, you probably would've been disappointed by it anyway.  
**

 **That's all from me now, Exotos, out.**


	43. Reboot (Final News Update)

**Don't you just hate it when people make a big deal about some sort of decision they need help deciding, only to decide something themselves mere moments later?**

 ***Someone from far away shouts HYPOCRITE!***

 **Yes, I know, and I'm sorry, but now that I've managed to get my composure ('Cause believe it or not, losing your composure can make you do some very stupid things... Like 96% of what I do all the time XD) I think I may have found a perfect way to undo this little mistake. You see, after reading some reviews, I started to think back to the very beginning of Chains of Reality (Since that's the part most people are likely going to talk about) and... Yeah, looking back at it, It's one big mess.**

 **Several plot points that have no point being there, characters acting completely weird and out of character without reason, SO LITTLE EXPLANATIONS! Clearly, it would be a chore to get through the beginning just to get to the good parts.**

 **And as everybody knows, of the three parts of the story (Beginning, Middle, and End), the Beginning is possibly one of, if not THE, most important part of a story, since it can either convince you to continue on reading, or go away forever. And most of you decided to stick around, but I don't think most people would sit through this stuff.**

 **So, I got an idea: Reboot the story.**

 **Now before you go at me with pitchforks and whatnot, let me just tell you a sad truth: I had the idea for the reboot for quite some time now. Ever since I got a better idea of what I wanted to do with this story, one of the first things I thought was, "If only I had this much clarity of where I wanted to go when it began", and so, coupled with quite a couple of stressful things like College (Whose status right now is HORRIBLE, to say the least), I just got the feeling a brand new start is what this story needed.**

 **So, what can you expect from this new story? Not a complete rehash, that's for sure.**

 **For one, we're going to start in a different time: Basically the first couple of chapters (Probably from chapter 1 to 3, but it could change), to establish some conflicts right away, and from there, we begin slow and build to a climactic ending with each story arc.**

 **Some things that would stay the same would be Lincolnism and its ranks, certain relationships, and future developments I wanted to test out. But everything else will be reworked, because It's necessary. Granted, reworking a story this big would require a lot of time, but hey, you know what they say: The more time you give yourself to work on something, the more time you get to make sure it's at its very best.**

 **And as a plus, It's October! The month of Fear and Witches and terrible Loud House episodes! What better way to get in the spirit than by giving you the horrible nightmare of _no Chains of Reality for over a month_?! MWAHAHAHAHA!**

 **Also, before anybody starts worrying, I'm not going to make each chapter 10000+ words or something like that. While it could help me develop certain things, I just don't see any particular type of chapter, except for an info dump one, and even then only if the info dump is that important, where such a length would be required. In fact, it would probably just be detrimental, since it could potentially mess up the pacing or make the wait between chapters even longer than it already is.**

 **Also also, don't worry, my dear readers, for I'm not going to embark on this task alone. A Hopeful Observer, a nice guy who managed to snap me out of my funk enough to consider the reboot, and also has been reviewing this story for quite a while, will work as my beta reader to make sure the rebooted story is in prime condition before posting, since errors were here and there, since I used to do everything on my own, with the occasional help from Omega Ultra.**

 **So, when can you expect this reboot to come out? Perhaps December, perhaps next year, but it won't be anytime soon. I need to take my time with this, or else the blunder will just repeat all over again.**

 **As for what will happen to everything else connected to this story, like Side Stories or Linconlism... That will be decided later.**

 **And that's basically all I got to say. Sorry for making everybody worry, for those that did worry, but I assure you, this will be for the better. Also, if you'd like to suggest some things you'd like me to keep for the reboot, like the personality changes, or certain deaths, or whatever, suggest them in the reviews and both Hope and I will consider it.  
**

 **Have a good day, everyone. :)**


	44. Return of the Angels

**No, sorry, I'm not going back to this story, I'm still rebooting it. However, I'm going to give you guys this last chapter I managed to complete before deciding to reboot the story. And don't worry, a teaser for the reboot will be coming soon. Eventually.**

 **So anyway, let's move on!**

* * *

 **Last time, on Chains of Reality, the beginning of Proto-Lily's mind numbing birth caused everybody nearby to try and go into hiding, with some very unfortunate people either staying outside, like Polly Pain, go outside to help someone, like Ronnie Anne, or be forced outside as part of some punishment, like Paige.**

 **And as if that wasn't enough, not only did Lynn ran off to face her prototype counterpart, but Lucy and Lana tried to fight their own counterparts, but wound up defeated in the process, with the prototypes proclaiming their intent to regain their true powers as they possessed the girls' bodies!**

 **What will happen next?! Find out now, on Chains of Reality!**

* * *

 **Chapter 42: The Angel of Twilight and Angel of Metamorphosis Enter the Picture! Protect the Divine Father-Mother At All Costs!**

* * *

 _Back at the Loud house..._

"What do you mean I can control the lighting with my emotions?!"

Luan shouted just as the elevator in the tree opened, allowing Clyde to walk out. However, nobody seemed to notice him, so he took this chance to hide under the tree and overhear the ensuing conversation.

"Literally what we just told you, Luan!" Lori growled. "The more emotional you become, the more control you gain over the lighting. Right now, however, you can only control pre-made lighting, and can't create lighting of your own."

"But that doesn't necessarily matter a whole lot," Leni added. "What does matter is that the lighting will be attracted to your volatile emotions. Once you reach an emotional peak, a lighting bolt will come down your direction."

Luan frowned and looked at the ground. "If that's the case, maybe I should go elsewhere?"

Lori shook her head. "You can't, without Luna nearby, who else could stay here to help Lincoln give birth?"

"I'll do it."

The girls turned around to the source of the voice, who was none other than Clyde, who came out of hiding and walked towards Lincoln as Lori threw a glare at him.

"C-Clyde? Is that you?" Lincoln weakly asked. "W-What are you doing here?"

"That doesn't matter right now, I'll explain later, I promise," Clyde explained as he sat next to his best friend. "For now, I'm here to-"

And then he noticed something. "You haven't taken off his pants yet?"

"Oh no, Lisa's probably been experimenting on him!" Lori exclaimed. "She's put his mind on the gutter!"

"No, that's not it, hear me out: You know how babies are supposed to come out of the female groin genital, right?"

The girls exchanged "are you serious?" looks, then promptly nodded.

"Well, how's Lincoln supposed to give birth if that exact place is covered up by his pants and underwear?"

Everybody flinched, causing the barrier to temporarily weaken just as another Luan-attracted lighting bolt fell down, shattering a large portion of it. And as the blonde trio fixed and returned the barrier to full power, Luan argued:

"W-W-Well, that's how it would work on a woman, but Lincoln's a boy! Maybe it would come out of the other end?"

Clyde replied, "That would still be covered by his underwear and pants, though."

Luan's shocked expression was all the guy needed, and so he gently moved her out of the way and started to take off Lincoln's pants, and eventually, his underwear. Don't worry, though, he quickly covered him up with a white sheet before anything private could be seen.

Where he got the white sheet? Who knows.

"Let me take it from here," Clyde stated, earning a worried look from Luan. "Oh, and if you could do something useful, like provide comic relief or something, I'd appreciate it."

And soon enough, Luan got an idea, and asked, "Would direct the lighting bolts away from here be considered useful?"

Clyde shrugged. "I guess so."

That was all the comedian needed to hear. And so, she ran towards the shield, which quickly caught the blonde trio's attention.

"Luan, where are you going?!" Carol snapped.

"You just told me that I can control the lighting with my emotions, right?" the comedian recapped as she ran forth towards the shield. "I got the idea that maybe, just maybe, I can direct the lighting bolts away from Lincoln!"

"Luan, we can't sustain the force field and keep Lincoln company for his birth at the same time!" Leni stated with worry. "And yeah, Clyde's here, but he alone won't be enough!"

"I know, but-"

And then, Lori revealed:

"Listen up, sis, you can leave the force field but you can't go back through it. If you leave the right now, you'll be trapped outside, in the thunderstorm!"

The comedian stopped right before she crossed the barrier, and yet, it seemed like she just wanted to slow down, prompting Leni to add:

"You have to think through this: You may be able to direct the lighting elsewhere, but we don't know how long it'll be before you lose control of them. This thunderstorm's being made by Lincoln, and it's only a matter of time before he gains complete control!"

And yet, the joker raised her hand and hesitantly got ready to cross, her arm shaking as she did.

"This is your last chance," Lori growled. "Stop doing what you're trying to do and back. Away!"

Luan's shivers intensified as she stopped right before her arm could go outside, and then closed her eyes...

 _Meanwhile, at the city streets..._

A certain pair of girls stood outside, watching as the thunders continued to roar, but no lighting bolts were coming down. Anybody else would be intimidated enough to run away as fast as they possibly could. But these two were different.

These girls were Carlota Casagrande, one of Ronnie Anne's cousins, and Claire, animal lover and fellow lincolnist.

"So, this is the birth of Lily, and the rebirth of Lincoln's divinity," Carlota remarked as she looked firmly at the sky. "Taking the look of an orange-tinted thunderstorm."

"Please don't tell me you find this situation underwhelming," Claire said, shooting a glare at the Hispanic teenager.

"Oh no, it matches the expectations I had," Carlota folded her arms and tapped the ground with her foot. "I was expecting it to completely throw them off the roof, though. You know, since this is basically Lincoln becoming a god once more."

"Seriously, you're almost impossible to please at times," Claire muttered under her breath. "Let's just wait for Lana to arrive."

And judging from the animalistic roar the duo heard afterwards, Proto-Lana had just arrived. However, while Carlota just rolled her eyes and waited impatiently for the girl to show up, Claire formed a pair of fists and giggled in delight, joyfully expecting something cool or eye-catching.

And that's exactly what she got, since soon afterwards, a Lana lookalike arrived, riding on the shoulders of an evolved bear that now looked partially humanoid, shoulder pads and everything. And once the lookalike jumped out of the bear, she just had to snap her fingers to bring the animal back to its primitive form, before sending it away with a roar from her own.

As for the lookalike? She was basically Lana, but with longer pigtails than before, her shirt was red-musky green stripped, and there were eyes on top of her red cap, which seemed to have a mind of their own.

"I-Is that-"

"Yes, Claire, It's me," the Lana lookalike spoke. "Lana, or better known by my divine name of Barbatos, mother of the Beast caste, Sister and Angel of Metamorphosis, having returned to my pristine glory before I fell from Lincoln's grace."

"Um, should I go and return some other time?" Carlota asked, scratching the back of her head nervously. "I honestly thought we were going to meet both Lana and Lola."

"Lola's here, just stuck inside my body, acting as a guardian so my counterpart doesn't get out," Barbatos stated, folding her arms and shaking her head. "I made the mistake to leave my body unguarded when I swallowed her last time, but this time, I'm not going to take any risks!"

"So, what are you planning to do now, great mother?" Claire asked, sounding both excited and curious.

"Right now, the thing we must put our utmost focus on, is to make sure Lily's birth goes according to plan," Barbatos put her hands on her hips. "Since we're in the new reality, no doubt that the new brethren will try to interrupt it. We must make sure that doesn't happen, got it?"

Carlota and Claire nodded, and followed Barbatos as she flew off into the city and shouted:

"Then let's go!"

However, things soon changed when Carlota spotted a familiar sight-her cousing Ronnie Anne, running towards Lincoln's location-and so she flew towards her, catching Barbatos and Claire's attention.

"Carly, where are you going?!" Claire snapped.

"Don't mind her, she's trying to stop another invader," Barbatos stated, catching the brunette's attention. "We must focus on our own objectives, let Carlota handle her own."

Claire nodded, and the duo continued to fly as Carlota leaped high up in the sky, and plummeted down, ready to kick the ground while Ronnie Anne continued to run. And luckily enough, the freckled tomboy soon noticed and leaped away right before Carlota crashed on the ground, causing a small explosion that sent Ronnie flying a couple feet away.

And once the smoke dispersed, Ronnie dusted herself and was utterly shocked to see her cousin, sitting on the ground, grabbing her knee and moving back and forth as she breath in and out.

"Cousin Carlota?!" Ronnie exclaimed as she got up. "What are you doing here?!"

The teenager gestured Ronnie to hold on, for fairly obvious reasons. So the tomboy put her hands on her pockets and rolled her eyes as she waited for a couple minutes until her cousin finally got back up.

"Okay, let me ask again," Ronnie sternly stated. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at your apartment, or the bunker, or a place where you'll be safe from the thunderstorm?"

"Ronnie, that question could be thrown right back at you," Carlota shrugged and shook her head. "And just like you, I'm just going to tell you that I have something important to protect: The birth of sister Lily from the womb of Lincoln."

"And I need to protect Lame-O too!" the tomboy snapped... Then realized something. "Wait, Lame-O's womb, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Then she realized something else, "Don't tell me you're a Lincolnist too?!"

Carlota obliged and didn't tell her, but didn't really deny it either. She just cracked her knuckles and got ready to fight, with the freckled Hispanic girl putting on a battle stance just in case her cousin attacked out of nowhere.

 _Meanwhile, with Tabby..._

The young rocker ran as fast as she could through the city of Royal Woods, looking around everywhere for a sign of Polly's whereabouts, all while she couldn't help but notice that the thunderstorm was about to get worse, what with all the thunder roaring and stuff.

"Okay, Tabby, don't panic," the rocker mentally told herself. "As long as you manage to stay as far away from Hugh and your sisters, you should be able to find Polly Pain in no time. It wouldn't hurt to be able to watch from the sky, though."

And just in that moment, Luna-still in her Dumah-flew down and landed right in front of Tabby, who fell backwards to the ground and failed to say anything as she saw her friend's... Angelically weird ner appearance.

"Relax, Love, I'm not here to hurt you or anything," Luna stated, before scratching her hair. "But I'll admit, I may have to give you some explanations later-"

"May?! You definitely have to!" Tabby snapped as she got up. "I mean, last time we met, you were a normal girl with a passion for music-and a disturbing crush on my sister Sam-and now you're some sort of winged humanoid with b-sized bristols?!"

" _I had forgotten how much Tabby likes to use British slang,_ " Luna thought, before saying, "Listen, I'm looking for anybody who's out in the open in the middle of this thunderstorm, who can't defend themselves. I spotted you, and since you seem to be looking for someone, I was thinking I could give you a ride and help you a bit.

"You realize you're telling me all that while looking like a freak of nature?!" Tabby yelled, stomping the ground. "How am I supposed to know your claim you want to help me is not as bent as a nine bob note?!"

However, just then, she heard somebody coming, prompting her to get up on Luna's back and grip her shoulders.

"You know what? Nevermind, I accept the offer!"

And so, Luna spread her wings and flew into the sky, with Tabby screaming until Luna flew around the city. Now sitting on her back, Tabby took a look at the altitude they were at, and felt several dozen shivers going down her spine.

"Aw man, if you had told me we were going to go this high up in the sky, I would've given your offer a bit more consideration," Tabby gripped Luna's shoulders harder. "Seriously, this altitude is giving me collywobbles."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be a codename for something?"

"It's slang for feeling nervous! For crying out, Luna, you're supposed to be the Mick Swagger fan here!"

"Yeah, but I don't use British slang as much as you do."

"Whatever, let's just start looking around."

Luna nodded, and so they begun their search. Though while they flew, the young rocker couldn't help but think:

" _I really hope you're okay, Polly._ "

 _Speaking of Polly..._

The roller skater continued to follow Lynn and Proto-Lynn's fight as they continued to clash, totally disregarding the blatant thunderstorm in the horizon. However, something the tomboy noticed that while Lynn was punching and kicking left and right, trying to get a hit on her counterpart, Proto-Lynn just folded her arms and smugly smirked as she effortlessly dodged every single attack the athlete threw at her.

Which, of course, soon got on Lynn's nerves, who snapped:

"Why aren't you attacking?!"

And just as she ran off and got ready to punch the prototype jock, Lynn suddenly felt a nauseous feeling, followed by her Savinoken aura vanishing as Proto-Lynn smugly stated:

"Time's up."

With that done, Lynn hit the ground face-first, with Polly Pain arriving soon afterwards to help the athlete get up. However, that was easier said than done, since Lynn greatly shivered

"P-Polly, I don't know what's going on, but my limbs have gone numb," Lynn groaned in pain and held back some tears as she tried to move her arms. "I'm honestly trying to make them move, but-"

"Lynn, stop it, you're overexerting yourself!" Polly stold the athlete, who obliged right away and breathed heavily. "You need to go find a safe spot and rest."

"Listen to the true athlete, Camael, and don't try pushing your luck," Proto-Lynn stated, throwing a mocking grin at the exhausted jock and roller skater's direction. "You may have a massive ego and an ever bigger sense of stubborness, but even you must realize that you're in no condition to continue fighting."

"I-I just need to take a little rest, that's all!" Lynn snapped, gritting her teeth. "Once I'm back to fit condition, I'm going to tear you a new one!"

Proto-Lynn just chuckled, prompting Polly to snap, "What's so funny?"

The prototype jock looked up, and without warning, a lighting bolt headed straight for Polly and Lynn, but just as they screamed and tried to dodge it, Paige came out of nowhere and blocked it with her BunBunserker's arm, causing it to be ripped right out of it and be sent flying up in the air. However, everything else seemed to be in place.

"Geez, that was a close one," Paige remarked before turning to the duo. "Are you two okay?"

"For now, yes, but we won't be safe until we get some place to hide from this thunderstorm thing," Polly answered as she walked closer to the cockpit. "Do you know anywhere we can hide?"

"Sure, my cockpit is fairly big, so you two can hide here," Paige opened the cockpit and helped the pair get up.

Once the duo were inside and Paige closed the cockpit, however, they realized that Proto-Lynn hadn't really bothered to attack them at all. After all, she probably had enough time to throw an attack or two, and yet, she seemed comfortable enough just standing nearby, arms folded.

"Don't think I'm showing mercy to any of you, I just don't see you as a threat enough to waste a sneak attack on you," Proto-Lynn clarified, shaking her head. "I'll leave now, but before I go, I suggest you go hide somewhere safe. 'Cause trust me, this isn't something stupid little kids like you can survive."

And so, Proto-Lynn opened a portal and crossed it, with the portal vanishing just as another thunder roared, and Lynn suddenly exclaimed:

"Lucy! We need to go get Lucy!"

Then she crawled her way towards Paige, before barking, "Go into the city, we need to look for Lucy!"

Paige, of course, just smacked her away with a bitch slap.

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm the one piloting this robot!" the gamer snapped before operating the BunBunserker to go towards the city. "We need to keep our priorities straight: We get you two on a safe spot first, and then you can do whatever the heck you want while I try to survive Lincoln's storm."

Polly looked back up at the sky and got a horrifying idea. "Wait, are you saying this thunderstorm was made by Lincoln?"

"Not necessarily, you see, he's pregnant with Lily, the original one at that, and he's about to give birth," Paige explained, focusing solely on the road. "The thunderstorm came as a result of that, to try and protect him while he gave birth, but of course, there's still people who can survive that, and so, extra precautions need to be taken."

"So we're not going to go after Lucy?" Lynn asked, suddenly growing worried. "What if she gets hurt?!"

"Assuming I'm correct, several dozen or hundred people could be outside in this thunderstorm, which could cause a large size of casualties provided things go wrong," the robot pilot sternly pointed out. "If the only person you're going to care about is your sister, then I see your point, and I do find it kinda endearing, but we have several more people to try get to safety, so if you're just going to try and get me to focus on your sister above everybody else..."

Paige shot a glare at Lynn and Polly, one so intense, they could feel the atmosphere grow much more threateningly just by looking at it. Even more disturbingly however, and specially in Polly's case, Paige's eyes glew rainbow.

"Shut the hell up."

Lynn nodded, and Polly flinched as Paige added:

"Ponytailed lesbian, make sure the loudmouth doesn't speak again unless she has something important to say."

Polly nodded once more, and Paige's eyes turned back to normal as she focused on the road once more, with thunder once again roaring in the horizon.

Many thunders, but little lighting? There had to be a reason for that.

 _And there certainly was!..._

Luan ran around the streets, covering her head as she expected the lighting bolts to start raining any moment. She looked briefly at the sky, and once she felt like her fear was getting to a breaking point, she leaped just before one of the lighting bolts that fell down hit her.

"Yeah, I was right!" Luan exclaimed as she clutched her chest and caught her breath. "The lighting bolts have started to focus on me and go away from Lincoln's location! Or at least, I think so, there may be other lighting bolts coming down, but still, I can direct at least some of them away!"

Just as Luan resumed her run, though, she saw a peculiar pair run towards her: Lola and Lindsey, the former holding the latter's hand as she also swung her yo-yo around like a shield. To say it was quite an unusual sight to behold would be an understatement, specially for the comedian.

"Lola, are you hanging out with your pageant rival?" Luan inquired as the duo stopped right in front of her. "Actually, nevermind that, what are you two doing here?"

"There's a super dangerous thunderstorm outside, and I have no idea if Lana is in a safe place or not, so I decided to call it a truce with Lindsey so we could go look for Lana together," Lola answered, with Lindsey folding her arms and looking away upon being mentioned. "There, we explained why we're here, so what's your excuse?"

"Well, as it turns out, I can control lighting with my emotions-"

"If this is the setup for a joke, just stop," Lola ordered. "Now's not the time for such a thing."

"Yeah, I know some comedy relief is needed in serious times like this, but now's not a good time or anything," Lindsey stated, before spotting someone approaching. "Specially because we got some company!"

Claire and Barbatos entered the scene soon afterwards in the only way they knew: Crashing into the ground hard enough to leave behind a crater and make the ground shake for a few seconds. And once the smoke dispersed, Claire revealed she was on Barbatos' back, before jumping off and dusting both herself and her master.

"Lana? Is that you?" Lola asked, taking a step forward before noticing something. "No, wait, something doesn't feel right... Proto-Lana, are you in there?!"

"Yes and no," Barbatos answered with a chuckle. "Yes, the one you know as "Proto-Lana" is inside this Lana, Neo-Lana's, body. But she's not alone, for she's grown smarter since our last encounter. Both "Proto-Lana", and "Proto-Lola", her sister, reside in this body now!"

"What?!" the trio exclaimed.

This caused a lighting bolt to come straight to Luan, making the joker try to deflect it by wimp-slapping the air. Miraculously, not only did the wimp-slapping deflect the bolt, but sent it straight for Barbatos, who grabbed Claire and jumped out of the way right before the bolt struck. And as the smoke dispersed and Luan looked at her arms in disbelief, Lola scolded her:

"Luan, what are you doing!? First you ask them what's going on, and then you attack them!"

"I-I didn't mean to do that, I swear!" the joker replied, shaking her head. "I just got scared about the revelation, and suddenly, boom! Lighting bolt after me!"

"And the wimp-slapping that somehow deflected the bolt?" Lindsey asked, folding her arms.

"That was an instinctive reaction!"

And as the trio continued to argue, Barbatos and Claire stood by the sidelines and watched them with caution. And judging from the crater that came from the lighting bolt strike, they had reason to be cautious, specially since the reawakened angel had to hold Claire back.

"They don't seem hostile, and that lighting bolt did seem to be accidental," Barbatos remarked while Claire continued to try and get free from her grasp. "Claire, hear me out first, alright?"

"But they attacked us!" the toddler snapped.

"By accident," Barbatos stated. "If we strike now, they'll genuinely attack us."

Claire calmed down, though with her anger still barely restrained. "What do we do then?"

"Here's the plan: I'll attack Jophiel, since she's the one I need to worry the most, and you'll deal with the girl who looks like her and the thundering comedian," Barbatos explained as she put a hand on Claire's shoulder. "We'll make sure neither of them annoy or attack either of us, and most importantly, we must make sure they don't get the chance to interrupt Lily's birth. Understood?"

The animal loving toddler nodded with a little smile, and just as Luan and Lindsey tried to go to her aid, Claire basically flash-stepped and got on their way. Surprisingly enough, her appearance had slightly changed: her hair was more wild and looked much messier than usual, her canines had turned into outright fangs, her fingernails turned into claws, and she gained an animalistic tail.

"You wanna help her?" the toddler asked, her voice sounding deeper. "You're gonna have to get past me first!"

 _Meanwhile, elsewhere..._

The Swagger siblings-Hugh, Becky, and Sam-scanned their surroundings as another thunder roared in the skies. And while the thunder caught Becky and Hugh's attention, Sam just continued to look around in an apparent panic.

"Can anybody see where Tabby went?" Sam asked as she looked at every inch and corner she could find. "She couldn't have gone far, we have much longer legs than she does!"

"Yeah, but we have _you_ as the person leading the way," Becky scoffed, folding her arms and rolling her eyes. "So I wouldn't be surprised if you just got us lost in the middle of nowhere, and the middle of the thunderstorm to boot!"

Naturally, Sam wasn't happy with the statement. "You know, Becky, have you ever tried not to be a sassy sister? A sasster, basically, for one minute? I mean would it kill you to think positive?!"

Becky smirked. "Well, have you ever tried to not be a zealot jerk? A zeajerk, basically, for one minute? I mean, would it kill you to not act like you're better than everybody else?"

"Blasphemy!" Sam snapped. "I call blasphemy!"

"You two, shush!" Hugh snapped at his sisters.

Sam gulped and hid behind Becky, who just sweat a little and nervously nodded and smiled. Hugh returned the nod and continued to look at his surroundings, but he couldn't see anybody else around the city... Except for one person, a particular teenage guy that brought a smile to the guy's face.

It was Bobby, who stopped in place and flinched once she saw the guy looking at him.

"Sweetheart?" Hugh asked as he ran off to and hugged the teenager.

"Uh, h-hi, Hugh," Bobby nervously replied as he patted Hugh's back. "I-It's nice to see you again too. I won't be out here for long, I'll just stay out until I find Ronnie Anne."

"Your sister's out in the thunderstorm?" Hugh asked as the guys separated.

"What a coincidence, so is ours!" Sam remarked slowly leaving Becky's back. "Granted, we can't exactly focus on searching for both Tabby and your sister, so-"

Suddenly, everybody heard an agonized scream, which Bobby could recognize it came from Ronnie Anne. Not only that, but it sounded like she was relatively close enough to the team's spot.

"Nie Nie!" Bobby exclaimed before running off to the source of the voice. "Don't worry, Ronalda! I'm coming!"

"And you're not coming alone!" Hugh exclaimed before chasing after the guy.

Becky scratched her chin, and Sam couldn't help but ask, "Please don't tell me you're going to follow Hugh."

The redhead sighed. "As much as I'd like to go with Hugh and stay as far away as possible from you, somebody needs to find Tabby, and she needs to be found by somebody who won't drive her nuts. So, we have to look for her together."

"Finally! Someone who speaks logically!" Sam jumped out of hiding and pointed at the sky. "Let's look for Tabby-!"

"And I'll be leading the way," Becky stated, pushing Sam away. "You already had your turn, and we pretty much got lost, so now it's up to me to get us back on the right track. Understood?"

Sam gritted her teeth and got ready to sass Becky, but she quickly fell silent the instant her older sister threw a glare at her, with her eyes ominously glowing with anger and authority.

And the glow was purple, strangely enough.

"G-Got it," Sam meekly answered.

Becky nodded, and the duo promptly continued to look for the rocker, with Sam folding her arms and looking away as she followed her redheaded sister.

 _And in another part of the city, the park to be precise..._

The BunBunserker rested next to a tree as Paige played as lookout, while Polly put Lynn on the ground and tried to help her rest a bit. And judging by both Lynn's attempts to move her limbs, and her groans of pain, she wasn't helping the resting at all.

"Lynn, for the love of love itself, would you please stop trying to move?!" Polly snapped, trying her hardest to keep the jock on the ground. "You said it yourself: Your limbs have gone numb, trying to make them move won't make them heal."

"It's not like I have a choice, I need to get back into the action right here, right now!" Lynn snapped, then turned to Paige. "Hey, you! Robo-brat! Is there any way I can get back to full health right away?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "There's one particular item us lincolnists use to recover to full health, but only certain lincolnists can use them. I'm one of them, of course."

"Then give me the damn thing!" Lynn hissed, gritting her teeth.

"Lynn!" Polly exclaimed in shock.

"Yeah, sorry, you have a much higher chance at messing yourself up even further than you have in convincing me to help you," Paige scoffed. She shook her head and shrugged as she added, "I already took you and your friend to the safest zone I could find in a short time. Asking me to heal you up only to get beaten up again is asking for too much."

The jock, furious at the rejection, turned to Polly and growled, "Polly, do me a favor and get the healing thing from her!"

Surprisingly enough, Polly didn't need to think for too long about her answer:

"No."

Lynn, naturally, was angered at this response. "What?!"

"I said no," Polly repeated with a stern look as she folded her arms. "If you're going to recover from your injuries, you'll recover naturally, and not by eating something."

"Polly, you don't understand!" Lynn snapped as she continued to try and get up. "Lucy's out in the middle of this thunderstorm, I need to go help her as fast as I can!"

"No, Lynn, you need to lay down and rest," the roller skater stated. "You already wasted your time fighting your copycat, and now that your limbs have gone numb, you can't do anything about it. Just accept that you can't do anything but rest right now."

"Yes, accept your helplessness, mortal!"

The tomboys turned to the source of the voice, with Paige outright complaining, "Ugh, great, what now?!"

From the heavens came down a particular humanoid figure. This was none other than a Lucy lookalike, but with a white wing made of light to her right, and a black wing made of darkness on her other side. She also had a horn protruding from her forehead in a black-white spiral, and what seemed like a literal pony tail hanging from her back. Not only that, but her hair blew with the wind, revealing her closed eyes.

She looked identical to Lucy in every other way, though.

"Everybody, bow down to she who controls the light and the darkness! The life and the death of everything! All that is clear, and all that is hidden!" the fully powered, poetic angel spoke in an overly dramatic tone, completely unlike the Lucy most people knew and loved. Maybe. "Bow down, to the one and only..."

The angel opened her eyes, revealing they were the same glowing eyesockets as before, but this time, one was glowing white, while the other was glowing black, with a black and a white pupil respectively.

"Vine, Angel of Twilight!"

Inside the cockpit, however, Paige wasn't impressed. "Wow, your sister's kind of a drama queen."

"Trust me, that only makes her creepier," Lynn frowned.


	45. Reboot Reminder

**Just a quick reminder everybody:**

 **Chains of Reality has been rebooted into "Chains of Reality: Divinity Reborn." and this fic, the original version, is officially dead. This story won't be updated anymore, all updates and information from now on will be on the reboot, which is a separate story on my archive here.**

 **I post this note in the first place because, as my friend and partner in writing the story, A Hopeful Observer, said, there might be the possibility that some of the readers/reviewers/whatever of this version don't know about the existence of the reboot, or think it's part of the same story, when it isn't.**

 **Here's a link to it, s/ 12773517/ 1/ Chains of Reality Divinity Reborn, add "-" and dots where necessary, and the link should work. I encourage you give it a read.**


End file.
